S1 • E50 Jan 4, 2025 89m
"Roncalli - Power of the Circus" tells the story of Bernhard Paul, a man who no one thought capable of founding a circus and who went on to build one of Germany's most popular entertainment brands. A journey that began 50 years ago with a dream of the circus and culminated in countless battles behind the ring. A circus that today performs in New York in front of stars like Robert De Niro, Anne Hathaway, and Scarlett Johansson. A man who, with his vision in the 1970s and 1980s, brought poetry and magic back to the world and allowed people to dream again in a crisis-ridden time. Bernhard Paul underestimates the conflict his revolution will provoke in the established circus world. Althoff, Barum, and Krone are the circus idols of his childhood, whom he looked up to, but who do not tolerate any blood outside the circus. Initially ridiculed, Circus Roncalli gradually becomes its fiercest competitor. Intrigue, betrayal, and public dismantling are the weapons Bernhard Paul uses to repeatedly threaten his dream. Naturally, those already established see things differently. They, along with many companions of Circus Roncalli, will speak for the first time in the documentary and share their perspectives on the story. With the help of chocolate factory heir and pop star André Heller, Bernhard Paul succeeds against all odds in making his dream of Roncalli come true. But Paul increasingly feels overshadowed by Heller and ultimately loses everything in a duel between the directors, hides his circus from debt collectors in the snow, and smuggles it from Austria to Germany. Here, he aims to conquer Europe's leading circus country, thus encroaching on the territory of the other predators. Hidden in an occupied factory, he gathers loyal companions around him. However, he can no longer trust anyone. With creativity, a healthy dose of cunning, and an iron will, Paul fights for Roncalli's resurrection. This awakens combative rivals who are determined to stop its triumphant advance by any means necessary. While the new form of circus is celebrated by celebrities and audiences, and is eventually invited to Moscow as the world's first Western circus behind the Iron Curtain, first the competition explodes - and then Chernobyl. The reactor disaster almost derails Roncalli's first international tour. But no one expects that the enemy is not in the former Soviet Union, but in their own ring. Just as little as they expected to be celebrated in New York 40 years later. No one dares to dream of such a thing at the time.
