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Passes the Bechdel test

Toni Erdmann

2016. Directed by Maren Ade, written by Maren Ade.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

3 / 3

Passes

  1. Yes 1. At least two women
    17 women characters. 10 of them speak.
  2. Yes 2. Who talk to each other
    In 9 scenes out of 115.
  3. Yes 3. About something besides a man
    In those scenes, our script parser found no man named. See the scene.

Second opinion

Agree bechdeltest.com readers give it 3 out of 3.

Poster for Toni Erdmann

The film

Winfried doesn't see much of his working daughter Ines. He pays her a surprise visit in Bucharest, where she's busy as a corporate strategist. The geographical change doesn't help them to see more eye to eye. Practical joker Winfried annoys his daughter with corny pranks and jabs at her routine lifestyle of meetings and paperwork. Father and daughter reach an impasse, and Winfried agrees to go home to Germany. Enter Toni Erdmann: Winfried's flashy alter ego. Disguised in a tacky suit, weird wig and fake teeth, Toni barges into Ines' work circle, claiming to be her CEO's life coach. As Toni, Winfried doesn't hold back, and Ines meets the challenge. The harder they push, the closer they become. In all the madness, Ines begins to see that her eccentric father deserves a place in her life.

Released
25 Dec 2016
Genres
Comedy, Drama
Rated
R
IMDb
7.3 / 10
Metascore
93 / 100
Awards
Nominated for 1 Oscar. 60 wins & 85 nominations total
Elsewhere
View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

  • Women
  • Men
  • Not in the cast list
  • Bigger name, more lines
  1. Ines 221 lines, woman
  2. Winfried 114 lines, man
  3. Toni 64 lines, man
  4. Gerald 33 lines, man
  5. Tim 33 lines, man
  6. Steph 31 lines, woman
  7. Tatjana 26 lines, woman
  8. Apartment 25 lines
  9. House 21 lines
  10. Anca 19 lines, woman
Full cast, 56 people
  • Sandra Hüller as Ines
  • Peter Simonischek as Winfried / Toni
  • Michael Wittenborn as Henneberg
  • Thomas Loibl as Gerald
  • Trystan Pütter as Tim
  • Ingrid Bisu as Anka
  • Hadewych Minis as Tatjana
  • Lucy Russell as Steph
  • Victoria Cociaș as Flavia
  • Alexandru Papadopol as Dascălu
  • Victoria Malektorovych as Natalja
  • Ingrid Burkhard as Annegret
  • Jürg Löw as Gerhard
  • Ruth Reinecke as Renate
  • Nicolas Wackerbarth as Coach Leopold
  • Mihai Manolache as Bauer Ölfeld
  • Radu Bânzaru as Bogdan
  • Niels Bormann as Kurierfahrer
  • Radu Dumitrache as Manager Spa
  • Klara Höfels as Irma
  • Hartmut Stanke as Walter
  • Hans Löw as Oliver
  • Julischka Eichel as Babette
  • Lennart Moho as Lukas
  • Irene Rindje as Bärbel
  • Sava Lolov as M. Vermillard
  • John Keogh as Mr. Myers
  • Cezara Dafinescu as Dorina
  • Ozana Oancea as Ana
  • Manuela Ciucur as Frau Rodica
  • Ursula Renneke as Lehrerin
  • Karlheinz Ade as Rektor Dudinger
  • Mugur Sabo as Mann am Markt
  • Manu Sabo as Mann am Markt
  • Claudiu Împăratu as Mann am Markt
  • Bryan Jardine as Botschafter
  • Dana Marineci as Rezeptionistin Dacoil
  • Cătălin Băicuș as Dariu
  • Marius Georgian as Corneliu
  • Miriam Rizea as Flora
  • Luana Stoica as Sekretärin Iliescu
  • Valentin Popescu as Arbeiter Ölfeld
  • Ioan Brancu as Vorarbeiter Ölfeld
  • Emil Constantinescu as Junge Ölfeld
  • Mădălina Ciotea as Frau Partyservice
  • Daniel Filipescu as Kellner Da Vinci
  • Raluca David as Portier Hotel
  • Mihai Răzuș as Manager Dacoil
  • Adrian Bucur as Manager Dacoil
  • Andrei Mateiu as Nataljas Fahrer
  • Florin Vișenescu as Limo Fahrer
  • Șerban Gabriel Cismărescu as Mann Dachterasse
  • Marcus Weber as Kukeri Double
  • Ebba as Hund Willi
  • Vlad Ivanov as Iliescu
  • Cosmin Pădureanu as Taxi Driver

Who talks, scene by scene

Lines of dialogue in every 3 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 28% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.

Women

Men

Scene 1 Scene 115

Hover, tap or tab to a bar to see those scenes: where they happen and who's talking.

Show the numbers
ScenesWomen's linesMen's lines
1 to 3118
4 to 602
7 to 9910
10 to 121630
13 to 151413
16 to 1800
19 to 2157
22 to 24810
25 to 272628
28 to 301413
31 to 331811
34 to 3663
37 to 39106
40 to 4222
43 to 4599
46 to 48151
49 to 511117
52 to 545317
55 to 5772
58 to 601619
61 to 6312
64 to 662235
67 to 69211
70 to 7216
73 to 7501
76 to 7800
79 to 8135
82 to 8400
85 to 87146
88 to 90110
91 to 9306
94 to 9644
97 to 992312
100 to 10272
103 to 105407
106 to 10820
109 to 11183
112 to 11471
115 to 11501

The evidence

  • Straight from the script
  • Counted from the script and the credits

Tap an exhibit to open it.

Exhibit A: the passing scenes

The scene our parser counted as passing, word for word.
RENATE: Take it off right away... There’s still time to wash INES: Mom, leave it. I have a whole suitcase full of
NATALJA: I’m sorry for this. I am sure you are busy, but... INES: No, it’s NATALJA: We have this wedding in Moscow this weekend. INES: I don’t do too much shopping here myself, but
TATJANA: I’m freaking out with these Chinese wannabe INES: Yes, but text me where... TATJANA: Da Vinci, p.m. INES: Just talk about food. That always works.
NATALJA: I live mostly in Frankfurt and France. INES: How nice... NATALJA: I really like Frankfurt. I like countries with a
ANCA: Is it OK? INES: Yes. Thank you. ANCA: I am sorry. It’s not my best. INES: No, it’s just because of the presentation.

Exhibit B: every 100 lines

Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 53 are women's.

375 lines from women, 330 from men.

  • Women
  • Men

Exhibit C: who's in it

17 women and 18 men in the cast. 10 women and 10 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

  • Women
  • Men

Exhibit D: who gets heard

The first woman speaks at line 2 of 985. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 33 lines.

Every line of dialogue, first to last

  • First line by a woman
  • Longest stretch with no woman speaking

Words spoken

Women speak 52% of the words (2,261), men 48% (2,054). Women have 53% of the lines, so their lines run shorter than men's.

Exhibit E: the test the other way

Two named men talk to each other about something besides a woman. It passes the reverse test.

Conversations between two named characters

Exhibit F: behind the camera

7 of the 12 people in these jobs are women. Across the whole crew, 48% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by
Maren Ade (woman)
Written by
Maren Ade (woman)
Produced by
Maren Ade (woman), Jonas Dornbach (man), Janine Jackowski (woman), Michel Merkt (man)
Shot by
Patrick Orth (man)
Edited by
Heike Parplies (woman)
Production design by
Silke Fischer (gender not listed)
Costumes by
Gitti Fuchs (woman)
Cast by
Nina Haun (woman), Viorica Capdefier (gender not listed)

The crew, department by department

  • Production

    4 women, 7 men, 3 not listed

  • Art

    3 women, 0 men, 1 not listed

  • Costume & Make-Up

    2 women, 0 men, 1 not listed

  • Other crew

    0 women, 2 men, 1 not listed

  • Sound

    0 women, 3 men

  • Camera

    0 women, 1 men

  • Directing

    1 women, 0 men

  • Editing

    1 women, 0 men

  • Women
  • Men
  • Gender not listed on TMDB

Exhibit G: how old the stars were

Women: 42 on average. Men: 51 on average. The top-billed cast, at the film's release.

Women

Ingrid Bisu 28, Sandra Hüller 38, Hadewych Minis 39, Lucy Russell 44, Victoria Cociaș 59

Men

Trystan Pütter 35, Alexandru Papadopol 41, Thomas Loibl 47, Michael Wittenborn 63, Peter Simonischek 69

Exhibit H: the money

What it cost and made, where TMDB lists it.

Budget
$10 million
Box office
Not listed

From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.

About this analysis

Our parser read the script: 115 scenes and 985 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works

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