Here we have another adaptation of a German children's book and this one turns out as well as most others do these days. The book was written by Annette Mierswa, the screenplay comes from Thomas Heinemann, who directed as well. You may have watched his 2007 film "Vorne ist verdammt weit weg" if you are into German cinema.
One of the main topics this film has is the connection between the little girl (the central character) and her father (who left the family). The way she decides to keep a love bite and let her hair grow till he returns, is fairly well executed, also the hair reference when she finally decides to move on near the end. The cast is good as in most kids movies these days. If you know German cinema, you know Christiane Paul and probably also Antoine Monot Jr. The lead actress here is Tabea Hanstein, also as in most kids movies, a complete newcomer. She does an impressive job given the fact that she did not have any movie experience before.
There were very few weak moments only, basically only then when the film tried to become too dramatic for its own good (e.g. Lola screaming at her mom). The singing from the father on the picture I am not sure if I liked it. Maybe the point was to not like it as it was part of the small Lola from several years ago maybe, not the current one. The new man in Lola's mother's life, Kurt (Tobias Oertel), was an interesting character. Up to a certain point, you would never know if he was good or bad. He certainly had his quirks, a vet with a car you would not expect a man of medicine to drive. The one thing, I did not really get why he and Lola's mom would take a break from their relationship after the alleged drowning scene. At this point, I thought maybe the real dad would actually come back.
Another highlight was Lola's talking to the audience and we find out it is leaps in time from near the ending of the film when everything turned out well. Antoine Monot's main antagonist had his funny moments, but was not really evil, just a giant hypocrite. A very minor thing that kept in mind was when Lola's new friend told her that he was an illegal immigrant. Two other pupils heard it and he realized immediately. They could have turned this into some big story of betrayal with Lola's new friend assuming that she told them, but she did not, but the filmmakers did not take that path and I liked this decision very much. Would have been unnecessary drama if you ask me. The Captain Blaubär doppelganger, the old teacher and the policeman had their funny moments, but aside from the comic relief, they were almost as forgettable as the policeman's son and did not really add anything to the movie. Not so, the family of Lola's new friend. They had nice significance and I especially liked the father's performance in his struggles to cope with the complicated situations he was facing.
All in all, this one is definitely worth a watch, for younger and grown-up audiences and especially for those who, unlike me, are familiar with the book this is based on.
One of the main topics this film has is the connection between the little girl (the central character) and her father (who left the family). The way she decides to keep a love bite and let her hair grow till he returns, is fairly well executed, also the hair reference when she finally decides to move on near the end. The cast is good as in most kids movies these days. If you know German cinema, you know Christiane Paul and probably also Antoine Monot Jr. The lead actress here is Tabea Hanstein, also as in most kids movies, a complete newcomer. She does an impressive job given the fact that she did not have any movie experience before.
There were very few weak moments only, basically only then when the film tried to become too dramatic for its own good (e.g. Lola screaming at her mom). The singing from the father on the picture I am not sure if I liked it. Maybe the point was to not like it as it was part of the small Lola from several years ago maybe, not the current one. The new man in Lola's mother's life, Kurt (Tobias Oertel), was an interesting character. Up to a certain point, you would never know if he was good or bad. He certainly had his quirks, a vet with a car you would not expect a man of medicine to drive. The one thing, I did not really get why he and Lola's mom would take a break from their relationship after the alleged drowning scene. At this point, I thought maybe the real dad would actually come back.
Another highlight was Lola's talking to the audience and we find out it is leaps in time from near the ending of the film when everything turned out well. Antoine Monot's main antagonist had his funny moments, but was not really evil, just a giant hypocrite. A very minor thing that kept in mind was when Lola's new friend told her that he was an illegal immigrant. Two other pupils heard it and he realized immediately. They could have turned this into some big story of betrayal with Lola's new friend assuming that she told them, but she did not, but the filmmakers did not take that path and I liked this decision very much. Would have been unnecessary drama if you ask me. The Captain Blaubär doppelganger, the old teacher and the policeman had their funny moments, but aside from the comic relief, they were almost as forgettable as the policeman's son and did not really add anything to the movie. Not so, the family of Lola's new friend. They had nice significance and I especially liked the father's performance in his struggles to cope with the complicated situations he was facing.
All in all, this one is definitely worth a watch, for younger and grown-up audiences and especially for those who, unlike me, are familiar with the book this is based on.
