User Reviews

Ein wunderbarer Film, der meine Ansicht von "deutschem Kino" positiv erschüttert hat. Normalerweise befindet sich Filmmaterial zwischen Tatortverschnitten, 2. Weltkriegdrama und Til-Schweiger-Komödien...

aber dieser Film war anders.

Ich habe ihn nur durch Empfehlungen gesehen, da ich mich selbst nie in das deutsche "Klischeekino" wage - und der Film fast ähnlich zu anderen Komödien aussah. Weit gefehlt. GENIAL.

Hans-Peter "Hape" Kerkeling ist ein Urgestein der deutschen Comedy - oft wurde seine selbst erschaffene Kultfigur "Oskar Schlemmer" verlacht. Aber dies ist endlich der Film nach der Autobiographie, der offen legt - warum er so exzentrisch und expressiv sein Talent auslebte... wie er seinen Träumen folgte und so zu etwas unvergesslichem der deutschen Mediengeschichte werden konnte.

Ein Film über den Jungen Hans-Peter und seine depressive, überforderte Mutter. Über eine herzliche Familie, Lebenslust, Lachen, Schmerzen und Träume. Oskar konnte seine Mutter nur durch Witze und Verkleidungen zum Lachen bringen - und fand sich als kleines Kind auf der Bühne plötzlich ... wieder.

Großartige Regie, natürlich wunderbares Geschichtenmaterial von Kerkeling und fantastische Schauspieler, gerade der Junge Julius Weckauf bringt frischen Wind, viel Talent und nuancierten Humor auf die Leinwand.

Zeitzeugen (also die Generation, die in den 70ern groß wurde) sagt mir aus ihrem Erleben, dass sie die Darstellungen der Läden, Räume und visuellen Welt ähnlich empfangen, wie es im Film dargestellt wird... hier entspinnt sich ein authentisches Bild nicht nur über Menschen und ihre Probleme, die ihr Leben verändern... sondern auch der damaligen Welt.

Ich bin froh, dieses Schmuckstück gesehen zu haben und ein wenig mehr daran zu glauben: Alle Wunden können uns zum wachsen bringen - und wir können Träume erreichen, wenn wir nur daran glauben... und es ein paar Menschen gibt, die auch an uns geglaubt haben, irgendwann auf dem Weg.

Wunderbar, must see!

All About Me is based on the biography of German comedian and presenter Hans-Peter "Hape" Wilhem Kerkeling. It chronicles his childhood and family upbringing, growing up in the countryside of Recklinghausen in the 1970s.

The German title, Der Junge muss an die frische Luft, is transliterated as "This Boy Needs Some Fresh Air", which sounds like a euphemism describing a hyperactive child (that's my best non-confirmed linguistic guess anyways). It would have been a more suitable English title than "All About Me".

Director Caroline Link, who previously won an Oscar for Nowhere In Africa, skillfully balances comedy and tragedy with precise timing. The script captures that feeling of everyday time passing that Richard Linklater was shooting for in Boyhood, though the story covers a much shorter timespan. The audience effectively watches the Kerkelings watching Hans-Peter grow up and get to share their joy. When tragic things happen, you've realized you have become a part of the family and you are sobbing with them. Ready the tissues, this is a tearjerker. It's August now so it might be early to say this, All About You is the nicest cry you will have at the movies this year.

Julius Weckauf delivers a great child actor performance on par with a young Dakota Fanning. He possesses the acting chops, the presence and comedic timing, which is the rarest skill to have at such a young age. The boy is the star of the show and sufficiently in carries the film through its hilarious and the serious moments.

What was moving about All About Me was that it captured the joy of family in its best conditions. It is unrequited love, having a mutual support system, and endless inside jokes. As someone who works in education, how the Kerkeling family raise Hans-Peter is a great standard that parents and teachers can refer to. It illustrates the possibilities when you go along with a child's interests, instead of rejecting them offhand on the account of social norms or conventional thinking.

Hans-Peter has a natural God-given theatricality and develops a comedy bug as a child, doing impersonations of old ladies at the local mom and pop shop. When Hans-Peter wants to dress up like a woman for a local festival, his family encourages it, despite the occasional grimace from other families. "Just do what you want to do and forget what other people think," Hans-Peter's grandmother tells him. The routine of performing spontaneously improvised comedy bits for his family becomes the seed for his future comedy career.

All About Me is on my current top ten of 2019. It was serendipitous that I got to see it having perused its poster display walking out of Pain and Glory in a Taipei movie theater. It was a box office hit in Germany. If the film is released in your local arthouse cinema, go have a good laugh and a good cry.

Schöner Film über Hapes Kindheit. Lustig und traurig zugleich. Tolle Schauspieler!

Based on Hape Kerkeling's autobiographical novel, "Der Junge muss an die frische Luft" is one of the most extraordinary German mainstream-fitted films to be released in recent years. People who have never lived in Germany probably won't be particularly familiar with Hape Kerkeling's comedy, but as someone who has continuously watched his presence in German television while growing up, I was probably the perfect target for the film's intention to hit all the nostalgia nerves. It paints a beautiful picture of small-town Germany during the early 1970s, not to mention a stellar performance by young Julius Weckauf, who may just have given one of the best child performances I have seen in a long time. He took over Hape Kerkeling's person and completely vanished into the character, allowing for a very compelling viewing experience.

The movie capably handles tragedy and humor, keeping both of these aspects in perfect balance and allowing the audience some room to laugh one minute and cry the next (I won't lie, I did both of those things). Caroline Link's film probably can't be called critic-proof; someone who wants to find flaws probably will, but as for me, I absolutely loved the experience of just letting this portrait of a boy's upbringing in Germany during the early 70s sink in. Ursula Werner's performance as Oma Bertha is especially note-worthy; she's a scene-stealer whenever Julius Weckauf isn't (which is a rare incident). I fear people outside of Germany probably won't ever get to see this film unless they embark on an extended search for it, though I also think people outside of Germany probably won't care, as long as they aren't familiar with Hape Kerkeling himself. But honestly, even if you don't know anything about him, this is just a fantastic film which is a more than worthy way to spend 100 minutes of your time with.

We laughed a lot, cried a little and were all amazed by how good the film portrays the emotions of being in a big, a bit weird family in Germany. This film connects with you through strong performances and is just beautifully done.

Now it wont be for everyone and probably will not translate (both in terms of language and culture) but for Germans it is a must see.

The idyllic childhood of a boy of approximately 8 years of age is presented, who already showed some acting talent and certain gay / mannered behaviors, but who grows up, in the early 70s, within a family full of contention and affection, with the life's own contingencies (illness and death of loved ones, etc.) but surrounded by grandparents, parents, brother, uncles, neighbors, friends, etc. Warm, supportive and above all things, open-minded.

I have some questions, being a non-German gay person and with a similar age to the protagonist of the story. Was it real, what have I seen? Was it a common thing, at that time in Germany? Or should it be taken as a specific event (but real) in a family "out of the ordinary"? Or is it just an adult fiction, full of sweetened childhood nostalgia? ...

As far as I know, homosexuality had been legalized in Germany, very few years ago (and was still considered a mental health "problem") and I suppose that it would be, as in the rest of the world, still a taboo issue ... that many people thought (and some still think) that it was produced "due to a deficient family education (with a lack of limits and roles, etc. ..). This I asked myself, when I saw the scenes of the child, choosing a costume of princess, or her imitations of women, or the grandmother's comments, saying that the boy was never going to marry (with a woman), or the protection of the older brother without any homophobic reproach. Still, in the only scene in where some boys of the same age hit him and throw him off the bike, they do it for another childish reason ... And his schoolmates, above all, all seem to love him and have fun with his histrionic "occurrences" (without any kind of bullying)...

Ehmmm ... I'm going to be honest, because of what I have lived, read and seen in dozens of LGBT movies that describe that time of the beginning of "homosexual liberation / affirmation" in the western world (post p.175, post Buggery law, post Stonewall, etc.), things did not used to be like that, except maybe in certain communities or families, of the type hippies, progressives, artistic, etc., which seems not to be the case shown here, which is that of a working family in a rural Catholic and small town environment, ok, with an aunt who liked to sing and not much else) ... Actually, I am making this comment with the hope of hearing an answer that it could have been real, for whatever social or political reason, in Germany at that time.

I admit it, I hate German cinema. Either the plot revolves around some marketing persons in their swanky villas or nobles in their castles. German cinema strives to be far removed from reality. This film is such a beautiful and also sad exception to this rule. It is so funny and sad at the same time. Fantastic actors down to the smallest role, especially little Hape (Julius Weckauf). I am really happy that there is also a German film worth seeing. A great work.

It's as surprising as it is amazing to feel like a movie has actually been built around a real life. The kid is just amazing in the role, absolutely 100% believable and at points you just forget that you're watching a film.

There's really not much more to say here. Watch the movie. It doesn't get a much better than this.

This film about the childhood of germanys most famous comedian went deep under my skin. Not only for fans of Hape Kerkeling this is a true loveletter to individuality and crazyness. The local dialect and peculiarities of the "Ruhrgebiet area" are on point and reminded me of my own childhood. Also: strong female roles and great acting. Treat yourself!

It's more then a well known German comedian biography. It's a movie who reminds us how beautiful it is to be surrounded by family.The support and emotions to eachother in laughter and in difficult times like when you lose someone in your family. A movie which reminds us what it means to grow up with a family who is there for you and doesn't treat you like a child but like a person who can raise his voice and show his feelings without having fear . Please watch this movie. I hope that it will be able to watch all non-german speakers aswell.

This film review concerns two films: Der Junge muss an die frische Luft by Caroline Link and Bohemian Rhapsody by Bryan Singer. I watched both during one week and they both deal with biographies of individuals with whose art and talent I grew up and which I have always highly valued since I was young: Hape Kerkeling and Freddie Mercury - funny to see these names together, some people would say they are not playing in the same league, but for me, in a way, they are. Writing this I am aware that both were homosexual men and the films also discuss these issues (to anticipate: in a very different way). However, as both are such dissimilar personalities having a totally different background, this has neither been the reason for my admiration nor the intention of watching the films or reviewing them together. Indeed, I did not even know this detail when I was young as both have "outed" themselves as gay only later and unintentionally.

Der Junge muss an die frische Luft from 2018 tells the story of the early childhood of the successful German comedian, Hans Peter (or Hape) Kerkeling, following his and sharing the title of his autobiographical novel. It is directed by Caroline Link, who already won an Oscar for her film Nirgendwo in Afrika in 2003. The young Kerkeling-boy is performed by Julius Weckauf, his mother by Luise Mayer. Also, the well-known German actors Joachim Król, Hedi Kriegeskotte and Maren Kroymann play roles as members of Kerkelings family. Bohemian Rhapsody was also released in 2018 and presented itself as a mixture between documentary and drama, reflecting the life and rise of Freddie Mercury and the band, Queen from the middle of the seventies up until Mercurys death in 1991. It is directed by Bryan Singer. If I remember correctly, he wasn't able to finish the film, because of arguments on set, but direction of the last scenes were taken over by another director, David Fletcher. Rami Malek plays Freddie Mercury. His "love of my life", Mary Austin was performed by Lucy Boynton. It is also stars Gwilym Lee, Ben Hardy and Joseph Mazzello as members of the band Queen. Only Gwilym Lee, performing as the guitar-player Bryan May, I know from his role as Inspector Banaby´s assistant.

Body "Der Junge muss an die frische Luft"

The action takes place in the town Recklinghausen in the Ruhr area in Western Germany, where Hape Kerkeling was born. He is seven years old, when the story begins, and the age of ten at the end of the film. In between, we are introduced to his huge family with a lot of uncles, aunts and cousins and four wonderful grandparents, which uses every opportunity to meet each other, have parties, laugh together, sing and caress and admire the young already very funny Hans Peter. He performs in private circles, using his roles as princesses and the lady-in-a-half-trick, famous singers and performers of his childhood. His homosexuality is not specifically mentioned, but sometimes the film shows him looking at magazines with male models wearing underwear in the fashion of the seventies, or his loving grandmother asking people to shut the mouth when they complained about him wearing female carnival costumes. We see him moving with his parents to another residence, which included a new school and new neighbors. He is aware that he won't be able to impress his classmates with physical elegance and power as he has been clumsy and stout. Instead he uses his charm and cleverness and even exaggerates his clumsiness. We often see his absent father and his loving and beautiful mom going deeper and deeper into illness and depression, laughing only when seeing her son singing or performing, and at the end, committing suicide. After his mother´s death his grandparents take over his care. The film audience was not even able to stop crying because of the mothers very sad death, when seeing Hape and his grandparents preparing carefully for the visit of a lady from the child-protective-service. This scene is so funny, Hape directing the performance and role of each member of the small on set, that started with crying, but this time ended because of laughter. The film did end with a scene showing a performance of a banal school play. Hape only got the small role of a neighbor, arguing with a soccer-playing boy, but he was able to interpret and perform this one-minute-role in such a funny and extrovert way that he got all the laughter and applause for his own sake.

"Bohemian Rhapsody" Bohemian Rhapsody tells the story of the band Queen's forming, their first successes in clubs and bars, Freddies conservative Parsis family, the meeting of Freddie and his female love, Mary and the rise of the band from the moment of discovery by professional agents. Some of the most famous songs were performed including back stories to their writing and production. This especially concerns the story of writing, producing and releasing the eponymous title of the film, "Bohemian Rhapsody". According to the film, it had been rejected by EMI-Records at first, and then became the basis of the more then 20 years of success of the Band Queen. The film depicted how Freddie Mercury found out that he was bi-sexual and his first homosexual contacts. However, even the introduction into the Munich gay and leather fetish scene is only delicately hinted at, which in my eyes was somewhat ridiculous. The film then showed Mercury´s personality changing into a selfish person, manipulated by one of his agents, which ends in the separation of the band. In a dramatic matter they meet each other once again, rejoin, being told that Freddie suffers from AIDS. Finally, they perform at the famous Live-Aid-concert at Wembley Stadium in 1985.

Conclusion I was very impressed by the acting skills of the young actor, who played Hape Kerkeling. How can a seven year old boy act in such a precise, professional and confident way and at the same time remain a relaxed child? Also Rami Malek did a tremendous job. However, I did miss the "real" Freddie Mercury the whole time. The other actors are great in both films. I especially liked the actor starring Brian May. I have seen Brian May several times in TV and Gwilym Lee did his best to render the guitarist's attitude and behaviour perfectly. What I enjoyed about Der Junge muss an die frische Luft is the authenticity of the story. It is not important, if everything actually happened in the manner the film has shown it. But it is a true story, a story about a wonderful boy and his wonderful and at the same time tragic family. You know at the end of this film, that this ten year old will find his way and spread his talents. And this authenticity I saw in Der Junge muss an die frische Luft I didn´t find in Bohemian Rhapsody. Is it closer to a documentary? Yes, because the scenes at the Live-Aid-Concert are perfectly covered - I know that as I watched the concert when I was 15 years old and have never forgotten Queen´s amazing performance. Is it a drama? Yes, Queen never separated, Freddie did not tell anybody about his AIDS infection before 1987. Additionally, his performances with David Bowie and Montserrat Cabellé were not once mentioned in the film. When I saw the film Amadeus by Milos Forman thirty years before, I knew, that it did not tell the true and exact story of Mozart´s life. However, it was a true film about a genius. Bohemian Rhapsody is a loosely-based story about a genius and at times, an inadequate drama about a singer/songwriter. Only the music will survive - but it's the music of Queen, not of Brian Singer.

In addition to the wonderful production based on Hape Kerkeling's autobiography, the first part of the film is a beautiful representation of the Ruhr area in Germany in the 1970s. Full of energy and with a lot of humor. Anyone who has read the book knows that the film greatly simplifies many things - especially the mother's story. The second half of the film in particular is very intense and emotional. You can begin to understand what the little boy has to go through through the greatest loss of his life, but also what he learns from it. A great portrait of a little boy who became one of the greatest entertainers in Germany.

There is nothing I can add to the rest of the reviews except that if it is watched by somebody who don't know this comediant, like me, there is not much explanation, maybe some footage of him to explain who he became afterwards, so some people need to understand the meaning of the film reading the summary. It's a pity.