"Käthe Kruse" is a German television film from 2015, so this one will soon have its 5th anniversary and the director here is Franziska Buch, who is mostly known for her kids-themed film. The writer is Sharon von Wietersheim and looking at her body of work, I am not too impressed because most of what she has done so far are female-centered kitsch movies about unrealistic relationships and failed attempts at comedy. So I was definitely skeptical when it comes to these 90 minutes here. But the outcome certainly was a positive surprise to me. Lead actress Friederike Becht is not just stunning, but also shwos that she is among the best in Germany from her age group I'd say. And actors like Strauss, Karl and Bock are always welcome additions, especially when they show up surprisingly in television movie. But they probably saw that this one is quality. It is about Käthe Kruse, the German doll manufacturer from the 20th century. The first half is basically an introduction to her character, we find out about romance (i.e. the man) in her life and also the relationship with her mother whose health seems to be getting worse and worse. The second half then is really major focus on the dolls, first to find somebody who would even distribute them and how she becomes a successful businesswoman and finally how competition from cheapskate manufacturers forces her to go to court. I would say that the court scenes at the end were not among the best the film has to offer in my opinion, but it was alright still overall. And the last shot of her and last words of her really were somewhat memorable. What also comes to mind is really hos much more difficult it is to come up with good aging makeup for women apparently because you could see that Karl's and Dinda's character have considerably aged, but Becht's still looked pretty young.
Anyway, I also think that the film did a really good job on focusing and what is most important. It makes valid references about how difficult it is for women to have a career at that point (she needs her husband's signature for example), but never turns into a desperate attempt to show us how unfair it all is. Same about World War I. Of course, it has an impact on everybody, but we see it through references that make sense, such as the disabled David or of course we hear on several occasions how during times like these people simply don't have the money to pay a lot, especially for dolls. So yeah, this film is a success and it definitely deserves better than to be shown just in German afternoon television these days. I have seen inferior big screen releases here in the last couple years from Germany. I also think that this film is superior to the Margarete Steiff movie starring Heike Makatsch, which is absolutely not Makatsch's fault, but the writing in terms of the strengths this film here has and the other has not is just better for the take on Kruse. It is also no biopic what we have here. Yes it starts early and we see that she had a harsh childhood too, but the film ends with the court proceedings and the outcome of these we find out already only through words written on the screen. So they definitely could have turned this into a 3-hour movie (or 2 1.5-hour movie) had they wanted to, but they took this path and that is perfectly fine because it worked out well overall. I give this movie a thumbs-up. Pretty nice period piece that is based on real events and characters. Go watch, maybe one rather for female audiences than male audiences, but definitely not exclusive. Me liking it too is the best example of how everybody no matter what age or gender can enjoy it. Costumes, sets and music are fine as well.
Anyway, I also think that the film did a really good job on focusing and what is most important. It makes valid references about how difficult it is for women to have a career at that point (she needs her husband's signature for example), but never turns into a desperate attempt to show us how unfair it all is. Same about World War I. Of course, it has an impact on everybody, but we see it through references that make sense, such as the disabled David or of course we hear on several occasions how during times like these people simply don't have the money to pay a lot, especially for dolls. So yeah, this film is a success and it definitely deserves better than to be shown just in German afternoon television these days. I have seen inferior big screen releases here in the last couple years from Germany. I also think that this film is superior to the Margarete Steiff movie starring Heike Makatsch, which is absolutely not Makatsch's fault, but the writing in terms of the strengths this film here has and the other has not is just better for the take on Kruse. It is also no biopic what we have here. Yes it starts early and we see that she had a harsh childhood too, but the film ends with the court proceedings and the outcome of these we find out already only through words written on the screen. So they definitely could have turned this into a 3-hour movie (or 2 1.5-hour movie) had they wanted to, but they took this path and that is perfectly fine because it worked out well overall. I give this movie a thumbs-up. Pretty nice period piece that is based on real events and characters. Go watch, maybe one rather for female audiences than male audiences, but definitely not exclusive. Me liking it too is the best example of how everybody no matter what age or gender can enjoy it. Costumes, sets and music are fine as well.
