Buddenbrooks, released also as Buddenbrooks: The Decline of a Family, is a 2008 German drama film directed by Heinrich Breloer, adapted from the 1901 novel of the same name by Thomas Mann. Set in the 19th century, the film portrays the decline of a wealthy family of grain merchants in Lübeck, the Buddenbrooks, and with them a whole way of life as Germany changed radically. It stars Armin Mueller-Stahl as the family's patriarch Consul Jean Buddenbrook, Iris Berben as his wife Bethsy Buddenbrook, and Jessica Schwarz, Mark Waschke and August Diehl as their children Tony, Thomas, and Christian Buddenbrook, respectively. Buddenbrooks was released in Germany on 25 December 2008, and by July 2009 it was seen by more than 1.2million viewers. The film had its American premiere at the Seattle International Film Festival in June 2009. In 2010, it was released as a two–episode television miniseries, which was shown on the Arte on 23 and 24 December, and on the Das Erste on 27 and 28 December. Source: Wikipedia (en)