Daniel: Der Zauberer ("Daniel: The Wizard") is a 2004 German biographical musical drama film written and directed by Ulli Lommel, starring pop singer and Deutschland sucht den Superstar (the German version of American Idol) contestant Lana Kaiser (then known as Daniel Küblböck) As Herself.
The successful singer DK is (according to the film's tagline) "loved by millions, hated by many". Teenagers Rike and Tom decide to kill Daniel. They are encouraged, albeit not directly supported, by the mysterious Baltazar. DK is in turn spiritually supported by her dead grandfather Johnny (played by Lommel himself) who appears to her in visions, typically carrying a baritone horn and a wand and wearing a cap under his top hat, and who sometimes only has one arm, sometimes two.
Includes examples of the following tropes:
- Actor Allusion: There are numerous references to Kaiser's career and personal life. Most notably, Johnny turns Baltazar into a cockroach, who subsequently says the words "I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!" before being turned back into a human, which is both a Shout-Out to Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis and a reference to Kaiser's appearance on the German version of said TV series, in which she was challenged to lie in a coffin full of cockroaches. Additionally, headlines about Lana in the tabloid newspaper Bild are visible in several scenes, including one referring to a then-recent car accident involving the singer.
- An Aesop: Lommel stated in interviews that he wanted to make a film that shows young people how to deal with frustration and hate without getting into the eternal cycle of hate and counter-hate.
- Camp Gay: Lana, who at the time identified as bisexual but later came out as gay (and then transgender), has an androgynous look similar to that of Boy George.
- Love It or Hate It: DK, according to the film's tagline.
- Never Trust a Title: Johnny is the wizard, not DK. Thus, the film's title should technically be Daniel und der Zauberer.
- Very Loosely Based on a True Story: Lana Kaiser's real-life paternal grandfather, Johannes Küblböck (Johnny for short), actually was a stage magician. Though so far as is known, he didn't make a habit of acting as a Spirit Advisor to his granddaughter — in fact, the real Johannes was actually still alive at the time of the movie's release.
