"Der Eisenhans" is a German television film from 2011 and this is one of so many new takes on old fairytale movies from Germany in recent years. These usually air during the Christmas holidays, at least during their first showing, and this is also true for this one here because it was on for Heiligabend as we say here in Germany, which means on 24th December. This also means that it is only a few more months unil this one has its tenth anniversary already. Most of the time, these films run for minimally an hour, but this one here is a bit longer than that, but at 83 minutes still a really short movie by general standards. i think these additional 23 minutes could have to do with this being a ZDF production and not an ARD production although I am not entirely sure about that. Maybe it also only has to do with the story being too long and complex for an hour only. It sure did not feel in a way where I would say it is necessary to or possible to cut the film considerably shorter because story-wise, almost all of it was needed probably.
Anyway, a few words on the basics: This is of course based on a tale by the Brothers Grimm, the most famous fairytale writers out there and I say that not only because they originate from my country. It's nice so many of their stories have managed to stay relevant. I'd say this one here is not among their most or least known overall. Maybe closer to the latter. I doubt many people know what the story is about, even if they probably have heard of the Eisenhans character. The writer here is Rudolf Herfurtner and he will turn 75 soon. He started in the 1980s already in the film industry, but has not been prolific at all. Still, at this point, this is not the man's most recent filmmaking effort. It is though for director Manuel Siebenmann, who was born in America, but has only worked on German projects. He is easily over a decade younger than his writer and has been more prolific too, but also not as much as you would imagine given how long he has been in the industry.
The title character here is played by Michael Mendl, a very experienced German actor who was in the Oscar-nominated Der Untergang and also in the highly successful series Dark from pretty recently. Only to mention two projects. There are many others. His character is a mythical forest creature that makes sure no animals in the forest are killed. That's why he is also not really seen as a friend, but a rather dangerous being as his methods can be determined. But that does not make him an antagonist. His intentions are noble. Reminds me a bit of the Lorax. Just a more serious and darker version perhaps. Anyway, you could think from the title that he is the key character, but it really isn't the case. At least, he is not the one at the center of the story. That would be Johannes by Laurence Rupp. Another fairly successful actor, but honestly I don't see much talent in him and he seems to be on the wooden side for me. Would have preferred another lead. Paula Schramm plays his love interest, in the second half mostly. I think she is attractive or at least not unattractive, but acting-wise I am also not won over.
The older guys have to carry here I suppose. André Hennicke plays the main antagonist, although we do not really know until almost the end that he is the closest to a villain this film has. I wonder if it is the same in the original story. Haven't read this one and I don't remember listening to it as a child. Probably not because it's not among the most kids-friendly the Brothers Grimm have to offer, which also may have to do with the absence of animals in here. I mean you see a deer and other animals on rare occasions, but they are not part of the story. Anyway, Hennicke's inclusion here shows as well that these films are always attractive for pretty established big screen actors too. I assume the payment wasn't bad and also these fairytale films are never in danger of heading into failure territory like a lot other stuff you see on German television, especially ARD (Degeto). But ZDf as well. As for the cast, Marion Mitterhammer can be mentioned too and I assume she is familiar to some. Not too much to me. Johann Adam Oest, however, who plays her husband, the king, has great recognition value, so I was a bit surprised I did not really recognize him. That's pretty much it. Cornelius Obonya could get a mention to as he is kinda easy to identify as well, not only because of his name, but his role here is minimal.
As for the story, I already said that there was a lot here for easily under 1.5 hours. However, the fact that the film does not feel too rushed helped it from my perspective and was in the end a crucial component in my decision to be generous and give three stars out of five instead od two stars out of five as I intended for the most part of the watch. A better lead (for Rupp, not for Mendl) could have made this an easier decision. But the fantasy elements were good enough overall I guess. The costumes and sets are also never really on the wrong side of these films. So at least there some of the gigantic sum of GEZ money is used for alright causes because it clearly helped the movie in bridging these rather forgettable segments. Or downright weak moments. I mean the romance part with that for sure. This was fairly disappointing, not only because of Rupp's lackluster approach that kept out all the emotions. Also because they sequence in which she is playing hard to get and bullies him a bit (just playfully) is tough to watch because it is symbolic really for how many films like this one here, normally the more modern stuff, has an anti-male message to it. Sometimes this message is rather subtle, on other occasions it's pretty easy to identify. Here, it is probably the latter, but luckily it is only this one lengthy scene. Other potential moments like the queen's wife smiling in disbelief when her man says that maybe he will take care of the Eisenhans (which means Iron John by the way) are not particularly funny, but also not too negative and are made up for by inclusions of the queen for example being somewhat wowed by the black knight's presence and physicality. Again, I wonder if this is just an addition from the writer or director or if this was handled in a similar fashion in the Grimm tale.
The poster here on imdb also feels a bit misleading in my opinion because the romance story is at best vital in the second forty minutes and here it looks really as if it was the very center of the story. It also meant a decline in quality and this film is probably better in the first half. For example, I liked the Goldilocks (let's call it that) inclusion and how the (actual) protagonist gets a bit of his hair changed color-wise. The hat scene okay. It was supposed to hide the magic I assume, but it did not do too much for me. The very ending was alright again as well as the protagonist is visited by his king and told how proud he is of him, which is not a given because said king was also never really clearly one of the good guys. But he is just a bit incompetent on the funny side I assume and not really evil or anything. One thing I did not like at all was how we are supposed to believe that Rupp is really a powerful knight himself now as well and ready to take on the black knight. Again, they simply had the wrong lead for that. From a general fairytale perspective, it is nothing uncommon (Brothers Grimm or not) that a former prince(ss) becomes one of the simple folk before they return to power with a changed mind or, in this case, with the achievements that show us they have proven themselves worthy of being special. That's pretty much it now. I made clear that it was a fairly close call here for me if I should give a thumbs-up or thumbs-down, but for now let's go with the former. Could be subject to change though if I ever watch this film again, but I kinda doubt it. That good it was not and once is enough I suppose. I think there's also about a dozen of these recent German fairytale films out there that you may want to watch before this one here, simply because they are better and superior in quality. For example, they could have made the golden apple part far more memorable. Still seeing the outcome here is also not a bad decision. Go for it if you want.
Anyway, a few words on the basics: This is of course based on a tale by the Brothers Grimm, the most famous fairytale writers out there and I say that not only because they originate from my country. It's nice so many of their stories have managed to stay relevant. I'd say this one here is not among their most or least known overall. Maybe closer to the latter. I doubt many people know what the story is about, even if they probably have heard of the Eisenhans character. The writer here is Rudolf Herfurtner and he will turn 75 soon. He started in the 1980s already in the film industry, but has not been prolific at all. Still, at this point, this is not the man's most recent filmmaking effort. It is though for director Manuel Siebenmann, who was born in America, but has only worked on German projects. He is easily over a decade younger than his writer and has been more prolific too, but also not as much as you would imagine given how long he has been in the industry.
The title character here is played by Michael Mendl, a very experienced German actor who was in the Oscar-nominated Der Untergang and also in the highly successful series Dark from pretty recently. Only to mention two projects. There are many others. His character is a mythical forest creature that makes sure no animals in the forest are killed. That's why he is also not really seen as a friend, but a rather dangerous being as his methods can be determined. But that does not make him an antagonist. His intentions are noble. Reminds me a bit of the Lorax. Just a more serious and darker version perhaps. Anyway, you could think from the title that he is the key character, but it really isn't the case. At least, he is not the one at the center of the story. That would be Johannes by Laurence Rupp. Another fairly successful actor, but honestly I don't see much talent in him and he seems to be on the wooden side for me. Would have preferred another lead. Paula Schramm plays his love interest, in the second half mostly. I think she is attractive or at least not unattractive, but acting-wise I am also not won over.
The older guys have to carry here I suppose. André Hennicke plays the main antagonist, although we do not really know until almost the end that he is the closest to a villain this film has. I wonder if it is the same in the original story. Haven't read this one and I don't remember listening to it as a child. Probably not because it's not among the most kids-friendly the Brothers Grimm have to offer, which also may have to do with the absence of animals in here. I mean you see a deer and other animals on rare occasions, but they are not part of the story. Anyway, Hennicke's inclusion here shows as well that these films are always attractive for pretty established big screen actors too. I assume the payment wasn't bad and also these fairytale films are never in danger of heading into failure territory like a lot other stuff you see on German television, especially ARD (Degeto). But ZDf as well. As for the cast, Marion Mitterhammer can be mentioned too and I assume she is familiar to some. Not too much to me. Johann Adam Oest, however, who plays her husband, the king, has great recognition value, so I was a bit surprised I did not really recognize him. That's pretty much it. Cornelius Obonya could get a mention to as he is kinda easy to identify as well, not only because of his name, but his role here is minimal.
As for the story, I already said that there was a lot here for easily under 1.5 hours. However, the fact that the film does not feel too rushed helped it from my perspective and was in the end a crucial component in my decision to be generous and give three stars out of five instead od two stars out of five as I intended for the most part of the watch. A better lead (for Rupp, not for Mendl) could have made this an easier decision. But the fantasy elements were good enough overall I guess. The costumes and sets are also never really on the wrong side of these films. So at least there some of the gigantic sum of GEZ money is used for alright causes because it clearly helped the movie in bridging these rather forgettable segments. Or downright weak moments. I mean the romance part with that for sure. This was fairly disappointing, not only because of Rupp's lackluster approach that kept out all the emotions. Also because they sequence in which she is playing hard to get and bullies him a bit (just playfully) is tough to watch because it is symbolic really for how many films like this one here, normally the more modern stuff, has an anti-male message to it. Sometimes this message is rather subtle, on other occasions it's pretty easy to identify. Here, it is probably the latter, but luckily it is only this one lengthy scene. Other potential moments like the queen's wife smiling in disbelief when her man says that maybe he will take care of the Eisenhans (which means Iron John by the way) are not particularly funny, but also not too negative and are made up for by inclusions of the queen for example being somewhat wowed by the black knight's presence and physicality. Again, I wonder if this is just an addition from the writer or director or if this was handled in a similar fashion in the Grimm tale.
The poster here on imdb also feels a bit misleading in my opinion because the romance story is at best vital in the second forty minutes and here it looks really as if it was the very center of the story. It also meant a decline in quality and this film is probably better in the first half. For example, I liked the Goldilocks (let's call it that) inclusion and how the (actual) protagonist gets a bit of his hair changed color-wise. The hat scene okay. It was supposed to hide the magic I assume, but it did not do too much for me. The very ending was alright again as well as the protagonist is visited by his king and told how proud he is of him, which is not a given because said king was also never really clearly one of the good guys. But he is just a bit incompetent on the funny side I assume and not really evil or anything. One thing I did not like at all was how we are supposed to believe that Rupp is really a powerful knight himself now as well and ready to take on the black knight. Again, they simply had the wrong lead for that. From a general fairytale perspective, it is nothing uncommon (Brothers Grimm or not) that a former prince(ss) becomes one of the simple folk before they return to power with a changed mind or, in this case, with the achievements that show us they have proven themselves worthy of being special. That's pretty much it now. I made clear that it was a fairly close call here for me if I should give a thumbs-up or thumbs-down, but for now let's go with the former. Could be subject to change though if I ever watch this film again, but I kinda doubt it. That good it was not and once is enough I suppose. I think there's also about a dozen of these recent German fairytale films out there that you may want to watch before this one here, simply because they are better and superior in quality. For example, they could have made the golden apple part far more memorable. Still seeing the outcome here is also not a bad decision. Go for it if you want.
