"Stille Nächte" (which means Silent Nights) is a German television movie from 2014, so this one has its 5th anniversary and as you may have guessed from the title already this was shown for the very first time in December back then. The writer and director was Horst Johann Sczerba and has been working in the film industry for a really long time, even if he had a break of considerably over 10 years before making this one. It definitely doesn't show because this is a good film. He certainly did not get rusty during this break. The fact that it turned out so well also has to do with the cast here for sure. The two older supporting players Thalbach and Zischler are very famous, also known internationally. This is probably not true for the two lead actors Schüttler and Koeberlin, but they are both pretty good as well, even if here I am probably a bit biased because I like the duo in other works as well. Maybe Schüttler is a bit more known than Koeberlin, but they worked well together here, also had nice chemistry. The movie runs for 90 minutes like most German small screen productions and it feels really the perfect running time for the material. No need for it to be longer or shorter. I would say that because of the exact contents, this is maybe best to be watched with your significant other, maybe also with your parents, but not really for young children. I seriously more holiday movies could be like this one and not like all the really bad cheesy romance films with horrible acting and an even worse script that are released constantly here in Germany.
They are really doing it all right. I will talk a bit about the contents now. We have a couple here who are split up and now leading their own lives. However, the woman is really fond of the guy's parents and they still don't know that they are not together anymore, so each year the two meet and visit the guy's parents and pretend to be an item still for them because they would be really sad otherwise. Still the woman wants the man to tell his parents, but also says it is his job only to do so. Anyway, while they are meeting each year for Christmas there, they also do stuff on their own like have a drink at a bar or just walk through the snow and it becomes clear quickly that there may still be feelings involved, even iif it seems these are not enough for a new shot at a relationship probably. So the years pass by. This film stretches over a pretty long period of time for sure, much more than those films usually do and while there are moments of comedy, it is still a dramatic movie at its core I'd say. This become clear most of all when we find out that the elderly couple has died and the reason was apparently that one of them got very sick and the other did not want to live on without their partner anymore on their own, so they both decide to end their lives. This I found really sad and touching, so I felt a lot and I also liked how they built up to this moment as we see the elderly couple's health declining and strength ailing in general. Until it happens. I thought it was very sweet that Schüttler's character support Koeberlin's character with all that, also physically as she goes with him to the morgue to finally see them again for a last time. The two were still pretty close because of their common past. Until another argument ensues, another heavy argument really that could result in them losing track of each other for good as they realize they do not have their shared Christmas now anymore. So why keep in touch? But it still ends in a happy fashion and even if it was a constant back and forth there it all felt somwhat right. This is really how happy endings should be handled and German small screen filmmakers should be obliged to watch this, so we won't have to sit through their crappy unrealistic hhappy endings in the future.
There were also references about the two main characters' jobs (even the parents' jobs). But these were never key. I mean it is of course crucial that he never said he is just a medical assistant and not a doctor, so lying is definitely a big thing in his life, but honestly I can understand him a bit and how he felt not good enough and sufficient enough for his parents, his girlfriend etc. We also see a bit of her work as she also felt like she wasn't enough and that he was ashamed of her, but also simpler moments like at the beginning when she has fun with her friends from work and they drink a lot and then she is caught by the police though and loses her license, even if the policeman is pretty friendly. The funniest part is probably though when she says at the morgue that he is a doctor himself, at that point knowing already it wasn't true, but it somewhat showed she forgave him this lie. By the way these morgue employees seemed really incompetent, namely the woman in the organisation who doesn't know when the two died and also who is not exactly as kind as you'd expect when dealing with relatives of recently deceased. Or also the people working directly inside the morgue and initially they show the two the wrong corpse. I am not sure what this was about, maybe a bit comedy that did not go perfectly fine or depicting in general how everybody is flawed. But it's alright. It wasn't bad or anything, only caught my attention because the rest of the film was this good. And hearing the voice-over when the parents read their farewell letter was really sad, but still their words were kind, so even if a big tragedy happened here, you will somehow have a smile on your lips when the closing credits roll in, especially as we see the parents (or their kind spirits) standing there again and watching the two they have always been so fond of at the very end. I thought this was a really marvellous film. Well done to everybody involved and it is definitely a pity that films of this quality are such a rare occurence on German television. But they are there. You just need to find them. Go see this one for sure! An even better watch at the holidays, even if it worth checking out throughout the entire year. Great song selections it has too.
They are really doing it all right. I will talk a bit about the contents now. We have a couple here who are split up and now leading their own lives. However, the woman is really fond of the guy's parents and they still don't know that they are not together anymore, so each year the two meet and visit the guy's parents and pretend to be an item still for them because they would be really sad otherwise. Still the woman wants the man to tell his parents, but also says it is his job only to do so. Anyway, while they are meeting each year for Christmas there, they also do stuff on their own like have a drink at a bar or just walk through the snow and it becomes clear quickly that there may still be feelings involved, even iif it seems these are not enough for a new shot at a relationship probably. So the years pass by. This film stretches over a pretty long period of time for sure, much more than those films usually do and while there are moments of comedy, it is still a dramatic movie at its core I'd say. This become clear most of all when we find out that the elderly couple has died and the reason was apparently that one of them got very sick and the other did not want to live on without their partner anymore on their own, so they both decide to end their lives. This I found really sad and touching, so I felt a lot and I also liked how they built up to this moment as we see the elderly couple's health declining and strength ailing in general. Until it happens. I thought it was very sweet that Schüttler's character support Koeberlin's character with all that, also physically as she goes with him to the morgue to finally see them again for a last time. The two were still pretty close because of their common past. Until another argument ensues, another heavy argument really that could result in them losing track of each other for good as they realize they do not have their shared Christmas now anymore. So why keep in touch? But it still ends in a happy fashion and even if it was a constant back and forth there it all felt somwhat right. This is really how happy endings should be handled and German small screen filmmakers should be obliged to watch this, so we won't have to sit through their crappy unrealistic hhappy endings in the future.
There were also references about the two main characters' jobs (even the parents' jobs). But these were never key. I mean it is of course crucial that he never said he is just a medical assistant and not a doctor, so lying is definitely a big thing in his life, but honestly I can understand him a bit and how he felt not good enough and sufficient enough for his parents, his girlfriend etc. We also see a bit of her work as she also felt like she wasn't enough and that he was ashamed of her, but also simpler moments like at the beginning when she has fun with her friends from work and they drink a lot and then she is caught by the police though and loses her license, even if the policeman is pretty friendly. The funniest part is probably though when she says at the morgue that he is a doctor himself, at that point knowing already it wasn't true, but it somewhat showed she forgave him this lie. By the way these morgue employees seemed really incompetent, namely the woman in the organisation who doesn't know when the two died and also who is not exactly as kind as you'd expect when dealing with relatives of recently deceased. Or also the people working directly inside the morgue and initially they show the two the wrong corpse. I am not sure what this was about, maybe a bit comedy that did not go perfectly fine or depicting in general how everybody is flawed. But it's alright. It wasn't bad or anything, only caught my attention because the rest of the film was this good. And hearing the voice-over when the parents read their farewell letter was really sad, but still their words were kind, so even if a big tragedy happened here, you will somehow have a smile on your lips when the closing credits roll in, especially as we see the parents (or their kind spirits) standing there again and watching the two they have always been so fond of at the very end. I thought this was a really marvellous film. Well done to everybody involved and it is definitely a pity that films of this quality are such a rare occurence on German television. But they are there. You just need to find them. Go see this one for sure! An even better watch at the holidays, even if it worth checking out throughout the entire year. Great song selections it has too.
