User reviews

One of the better German movies that was made in this new millenium. Without having done any background check or seen any documentaries on the making off, the performances here speak for themselves! Research was done and the people involved really give it their all. Not easy to do and maybe even harder to watch at times. But quite essential as far as dramas go.

While you may charge this for being predictable at times, it also does dare to go places you don't see it going. So not just because this is a German movie am I pleasantly surprised, but just as a movie in general, this has quite some merits to deliver and show the viewer. Highly recommended for anyone who even remotely likes a good drama with convincing performances to say the least (not a given with many German movies)

Three disabled, two men and a girl, one, a Tourette's syndrome sufferer, the second, an obsessive, the third, an anorexic, run away from a rehabilitation center, and change at least temporarily their behavior, when togetherness obliges them to make a switch in their life. Even the hero's father and the psychologist, who are going after them, pass from a relation of enmity to a friendly one. Pop music, speed of vehicles, the impact of Alps panorama, and brilliant photography, contribute in moving spectators to share the enthusiastic but momentary deliverance of the characters in their journey to the sea. The rhythm of the film is built using a wise dose of humor and sadness, candor and cruelty, beating movements of the camera, and contrast through alternative sequences of pursuers and pursued, showing the mad side of the normal and the sane side of the sick. The unusual expression of emotions in the faces and in the gait of the characters produces a sense of fresh spontaneity. The five principal actors make an exact performance. An overall idyllic atmosphere attenuates the underlying tragedy. Incredibility of certain scenes (the trio at the top of the cross; Alexander, the obsessive, conducting an imaginary orchestra) paradoxically succeed in convincing us, due to their sublimity. Catharsis is here an issue of giving up the hope of complete recovery. It's a movie that moves you to see it.

Fitz at his best. Some of his movies and/or performances in the last couple of years might not have been the best. But here, he's great.

Herfurth's performance shows why she's part of Germany's A-List. Allmaywe is underrated. Although he doesn't have the same "star-power" or pull factor as the other leads, he is more than solid. Fetch does a good job as well. Müller-Elmau is a bit too over the top for my taste.

At the end of the day. This is a German classic. A road movie, a rather unsurprising conclusion, known tropes and the most generic type of plot structure. But it works!

Doesn't break any ground. But works great for what it is.

8/10.