"Amelie rennt" is a German/Italian co-production from this year (2017) directed by Tobias Wiemann and written by prolific actress Jytte-Merle Böhrnsen together with Natja Brunckhorst, the actress who played Christiane F. in a pretty old, but also pretty famous film about the drug and prostitution scene in Berlin. I really did not expect her to be part of this project here. But it was a welcome addition as the script is among the better components for sure. First things first now: It runs for slightly over 1.5 hours and tells the story of Amelie, a girl suffering from asthma attacks who gets sent to a clinic up in the mountains in order to recover. Early on, the film is still very mediocre, but the moment she starts to run away and later on climb that mountain is when the film certainly improves and is not only watchable, but fun even. It's not bad before that, but just forgettable I'd say. As for the cast there are some known names and from these I would say Moschitto did the most with his character and Tabatabai was the most disappointing.
But the star here is without a doubt lead actress Mia Kasalo, who was so good that she even elevated the material in its weaker moments. From what I saw in here, she has a bright future ahead if she decides to stay in acting instead of going for a "normal life". Her male co-lead (in the second half is decent too as a whole, but he does not have the strong material like Kasalo to really shine as he is mostly a valve for Kasalo's character. The things I did not like were really just minor. The title could have been better as the quote it refers to really wasn't as significant as they want us to believe. And I also would have liked the boy's character to be a girl actually as the romance aspect could have gotten left out completely for all I care. It is not elaborated on in depth anyway. Now the good things: The film does not need any mountain ghosts or true villains to work. Or to not work, I could say. It's a bit about coming of age, a bit about your attitude to life, a bit of an adventure. The film never tries to be a cringeworthy life-or-death movie, especially at the end, which is nice because fake drama for the sake of it is never a good addition. The film does not include parents getting together, a miraculous cure at the fire or the two kids kissing eventually etc. so it all feels real and never like a happy ending that has zero purpose other than pleasing the crowds. It is about the characters, not about the audiences and that's how it should be. Sure this is not best-of-the-year material (I am a bit undecided about all the breathing/air references who were entertaining, but maybe a bit excessive), but it is still very much worth watching. The lead performance alone is enough for me to recommend this film and there are several other positive aspects too. The film succeeds with its comedic, adventurous and dramatic moments. It's also not just for children at all as grown-ups young at heart like myself can have a good time with this one for sure. A definite thumbs-up. It probably won't be too easy to get a hand on this one outside Germany, but if you do, then take this chance. One of the better German kids-centered films in recent years.
But the star here is without a doubt lead actress Mia Kasalo, who was so good that she even elevated the material in its weaker moments. From what I saw in here, she has a bright future ahead if she decides to stay in acting instead of going for a "normal life". Her male co-lead (in the second half is decent too as a whole, but he does not have the strong material like Kasalo to really shine as he is mostly a valve for Kasalo's character. The things I did not like were really just minor. The title could have been better as the quote it refers to really wasn't as significant as they want us to believe. And I also would have liked the boy's character to be a girl actually as the romance aspect could have gotten left out completely for all I care. It is not elaborated on in depth anyway. Now the good things: The film does not need any mountain ghosts or true villains to work. Or to not work, I could say. It's a bit about coming of age, a bit about your attitude to life, a bit of an adventure. The film never tries to be a cringeworthy life-or-death movie, especially at the end, which is nice because fake drama for the sake of it is never a good addition. The film does not include parents getting together, a miraculous cure at the fire or the two kids kissing eventually etc. so it all feels real and never like a happy ending that has zero purpose other than pleasing the crowds. It is about the characters, not about the audiences and that's how it should be. Sure this is not best-of-the-year material (I am a bit undecided about all the breathing/air references who were entertaining, but maybe a bit excessive), but it is still very much worth watching. The lead performance alone is enough for me to recommend this film and there are several other positive aspects too. The film succeeds with its comedic, adventurous and dramatic moments. It's also not just for children at all as grown-ups young at heart like myself can have a good time with this one for sure. A definite thumbs-up. It probably won't be too easy to get a hand on this one outside Germany, but if you do, then take this chance. One of the better German kids-centered films in recent years.
