Mondscheinkinder is a poignant film about Paul,a small boy suffering from an incurable skin disease.He would like to become a famous astronaut at any cost.It is rather tragic that neither Paul's mother nor his sister Lisa can help him in getting him out of his misery.Lisa has fallen in love with a boy and her life is not the same as it used to be in the past.For her début film,German director Manuela Stacke has created a good amalgamation of a feature film and some animation elements.Her film questions the attitudes of German children towards Bikes,Skateboarding etc.It is through Paul's seclusion that we are being shown that it is not so easy for a secluded kid to change his troubled existence.This film is a good example of a relationship involving a brother and a sister even though sometimes fights do occur between Lisa and Paul.Mondscheinkinder appears as a radical film as realities depicted in it are completely true to German sensibilities.It is one of a kind of film that educates us that family ties can be improved by concentrating more on the well being of family members.
3 Reviews
Difficult subject handled tastefully and adequately
Horst_In_Translation5 July 2017
Warning: Spoilers
"Children of the Moon" or "Mondscheinkinder" is a German movie from 2006, so this one had its 10th anniversary last year. It runs for slightly under 1.5 hours and it is the only full feature film work by director Manuela Stacke. At least until now. Writer is Katrin Milhahn and she was certainly more prolific, most recently wrote the new Hanni&Nanni movie. But this one we have here is probably still her most known work a decade later. The cast includes Krößner (Solo Sunny) and Kreye and these two are probably the most known performers in here. The three younger actors apparently all moved away from acting and focus on "normal" lives now. Lives outside the limelight. For the child actor who plays the title character, it was apparently even the only acting effort from his entire career.
This is the story of a boy named Paul, but it is also at least as much a story about his older sister who faces a real challenge in how much she has to deal with his brother's potentially terminal illness. He is not allowed to go outside as the sunlight can be deadly for him. So his family came up with a fictitious story for him, namely that he is some kind of space traveler and that his stay on earth is only temporary. This theme of the plot may also allow you to guess correctly the direction the film is heading eventually. I think there are some problems with the writing sadly, for example the dialogues for the boy did not always feel like something a child his age would say and the explanation that he is not a normal child is not really sufficient to make up for that. I am also not too big about the animated parts as these honestly looked pretty cheap and also will only appeal to younger audiences I guess. But luckily, the script is otherwise strong enough and the performances are also pretty good to make up for the minor problem I had with this movie. I especially liked Leonie Krahl and it is a bit of a pity that she stopped acting. The actor who plays her (future) boyfriend did a good job too, even if his whole Samaritan routine towards the end may be a bit exaggerated.
The minor parts and details are when the script shines, for example when they found a tumor and Krößner's character says something like he's a fighter and tells a little anecdote about how the boy refused walking as a kid. These are the film when the film is at its most touching. I think the illness story was handled pretty tastefully and if I had children, this would definitely be a film i would want my kids to watch, regardless if they are girls and boys. There are many fun films for kids from Germany from recent years and these are good as well, but this is one that also offers a decent deal of depth and without the flaws I mentioned earlier, i may have given it an even higher rating and included it among the very best of 2006. But the way it actually turned out, it is still very much worth seeing. I give it a thumbs-up and recommend the watch.
This is the story of a boy named Paul, but it is also at least as much a story about his older sister who faces a real challenge in how much she has to deal with his brother's potentially terminal illness. He is not allowed to go outside as the sunlight can be deadly for him. So his family came up with a fictitious story for him, namely that he is some kind of space traveler and that his stay on earth is only temporary. This theme of the plot may also allow you to guess correctly the direction the film is heading eventually. I think there are some problems with the writing sadly, for example the dialogues for the boy did not always feel like something a child his age would say and the explanation that he is not a normal child is not really sufficient to make up for that. I am also not too big about the animated parts as these honestly looked pretty cheap and also will only appeal to younger audiences I guess. But luckily, the script is otherwise strong enough and the performances are also pretty good to make up for the minor problem I had with this movie. I especially liked Leonie Krahl and it is a bit of a pity that she stopped acting. The actor who plays her (future) boyfriend did a good job too, even if his whole Samaritan routine towards the end may be a bit exaggerated.
The minor parts and details are when the script shines, for example when they found a tumor and Krößner's character says something like he's a fighter and tells a little anecdote about how the boy refused walking as a kid. These are the film when the film is at its most touching. I think the illness story was handled pretty tastefully and if I had children, this would definitely be a film i would want my kids to watch, regardless if they are girls and boys. There are many fun films for kids from Germany from recent years and these are good as well, but this is one that also offers a decent deal of depth and without the flaws I mentioned earlier, i may have given it an even higher rating and included it among the very best of 2006. But the way it actually turned out, it is still very much worth seeing. I give it a thumbs-up and recommend the watch.
Touching and entertaining
Pippi_langstrumpf12 December 2006
Mondscheinkinder is a very touching movie. It is considered to be a children's movie, but you definitely should not allow your child/children to watch it alone, but accompany them and talk with them about it.
The story goes straight to your heart. Paul, a little boy, suffers from a sun allergy. He immediately gets melanoma when exposed to UV radiation. His elder sister Lisa explains to him that he is an astronaut from another planet and thus cannot cope with the atmosphere on Earth.
Even though Lisa is often made fun of by her classmates, she loves her brother and tries to make life bearable for him. Then she falls in love with a boy from her school, Simon. Simon is at first jealous of Paul and vice versa. When Lisa tells Simon, however, what is wrong with Paul, he joins her in her stories about Paul being in astronaut. After all, Simon himself wants to be an astronaut! I found it extremely sad to see how the two of them try to make Paul happy.
Mondscheinkinder is definitely a film worth seeing. There are hardly any films about cancer and dying and how to cope with this situation. I can think of another German movie with a similar topic, Grüne Wüste. We all do not want to think about illness and death, yet they are part of our lives. Mondscheinkinder, however, is not depressing at all, it is rather entertaining and even full of hope. Go and watch it, think about your own life, and don't forget a huge handkerchief.
The story goes straight to your heart. Paul, a little boy, suffers from a sun allergy. He immediately gets melanoma when exposed to UV radiation. His elder sister Lisa explains to him that he is an astronaut from another planet and thus cannot cope with the atmosphere on Earth.
Even though Lisa is often made fun of by her classmates, she loves her brother and tries to make life bearable for him. Then she falls in love with a boy from her school, Simon. Simon is at first jealous of Paul and vice versa. When Lisa tells Simon, however, what is wrong with Paul, he joins her in her stories about Paul being in astronaut. After all, Simon himself wants to be an astronaut! I found it extremely sad to see how the two of them try to make Paul happy.
Mondscheinkinder is definitely a film worth seeing. There are hardly any films about cancer and dying and how to cope with this situation. I can think of another German movie with a similar topic, Grüne Wüste. We all do not want to think about illness and death, yet they are part of our lives. Mondscheinkinder, however, is not depressing at all, it is rather entertaining and even full of hope. Go and watch it, think about your own life, and don't forget a huge handkerchief.
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