"Frau Pfarrer & Herr Priester" is a German television movie from 2016, so this one is moving closer to its 5th anniversary. The director is Sebastian Sorger and if we take a look at his body of work as well as on the bodies of work of the two writers (one of them deceased already), you cannot really have great expectations for these 1.5 hours here because honestly the trio mostly worked on film that are gently-speaking below-average on the quality scale. Taking this into account, the outcome here is certainly a positive surprise. The two title characters (that you also see on the photo) are played by Birge Schade and Martin Gruber. The cast list here is really a mess and absolutely not in order. But so is the title somehow and also the photo here on imdb because honestly, there is only one real lead here and this is Schade. I guess they made it look like two, so they could put more focus on the romance story between these two characters, but actually there was really no need too because this is by no definition a romance movie. And that is also why I liked it all in all. Of course with the two characters being employees of the church (if you can say so), it was not exactly easy to elaborate on them in terms of worldly pleasures, but that restriction was actually a great thing and kept things subtle in terms of the two perhaps being or becoming a couple. So this is a good aspect. There are more. While Schade did not impress me too much and Gruber does not have the material to shine (I must admit I was not familiar with him at all), other actors take over. One is Austrian Erwin Steinhauer and while his role selection is not always brilliant, he is never really bad. I like him and I also liked that he featured a lot in this film, at least in the second half. As for the others, Alexandra Martini is easy on the eye and Llewellyn Reichman played her part nicely too, namely a young woman who got a cancer diagnosis and basically the entire film almost is the female protagonist trying all she can to fight for the woman's life, so she can get a necessary operation that the health insurance is not willing to cover. I mean there is hope at the end, but there is also an ending that is not entirely positive. This is very frequently a problem with German small screen releases that toards the end they sacrifice all realism really for a 100% happy ending. Here it felt more authentic.
Nonetheless the film has some weaknesses. Sometimes it went a bit over the top in showing us how Schade's character is such a kind spirit who fights for everybody that means something to her. I mean I could have done without the other story with the group of kids she takes care of and the issues with the mortgage/rent. This felt a but for the sake of it, but I was genuinely surprised towards the end that they were really ready to sacrifice this story and give us a bit of an unhappy ending in terms of that, even if the moeny was used for another cause obviously. Oh yes, by the way Thomas Ohrner, one of Germany's most successful child actors decades ago and also a pretty successful television host later on, is part of this film as well, even if only very briefly, namely when we see him paly a radio show host who interviews two characters about the situation with the sick girl. This was alright, but also how the film went a bit over the top with the song that is played afterwards was one situation in which they did not manage to strike all the right notes. It was still tolerable. I think that the film works on an emotional level for the most part and that is the most important thing. When we see the girl and hear her say that she is not feeling well or hen she says she does not want to die, it's really difficult to not feel something, feel with her. This is pretty much the decisive component in my decision whether I should give this film a thumbs-up or thumbs-down. A positive or negative recommendation. And I am going for the former here. I was really positively surprised. They did a lot right with these slightly under 90 minutes and this is better than at least 90% of the other films shown on German television in the afternoon. Okay, most of them are really bad, actually horrible, but this one is not only better because of that. It is also a success in its own right and the somewhat open ending (in terms of several plot references) was a bit or a courageous path they took. I explained earlier why I think so. This film deserves a better slot and it is a bit sad that one of the two writers does not live anymore, actually died before the age of 60 already, but I hope that at least the other riter from the duo can perhaps influence a few more television releases in a positive way in the coming years. Just like he did here. I give this movie a thumbs-up. Go see it and if you haven't enough yet when the closing credits roll in, then go for the American movie "A Walk to Remember" afterwards. That one deals with a similar subject and is one of my favorite films of all time. But as for now, go see this one.
Nonetheless the film has some weaknesses. Sometimes it went a bit over the top in showing us how Schade's character is such a kind spirit who fights for everybody that means something to her. I mean I could have done without the other story with the group of kids she takes care of and the issues with the mortgage/rent. This felt a but for the sake of it, but I was genuinely surprised towards the end that they were really ready to sacrifice this story and give us a bit of an unhappy ending in terms of that, even if the moeny was used for another cause obviously. Oh yes, by the way Thomas Ohrner, one of Germany's most successful child actors decades ago and also a pretty successful television host later on, is part of this film as well, even if only very briefly, namely when we see him paly a radio show host who interviews two characters about the situation with the sick girl. This was alright, but also how the film went a bit over the top with the song that is played afterwards was one situation in which they did not manage to strike all the right notes. It was still tolerable. I think that the film works on an emotional level for the most part and that is the most important thing. When we see the girl and hear her say that she is not feeling well or hen she says she does not want to die, it's really difficult to not feel something, feel with her. This is pretty much the decisive component in my decision whether I should give this film a thumbs-up or thumbs-down. A positive or negative recommendation. And I am going for the former here. I was really positively surprised. They did a lot right with these slightly under 90 minutes and this is better than at least 90% of the other films shown on German television in the afternoon. Okay, most of them are really bad, actually horrible, but this one is not only better because of that. It is also a success in its own right and the somewhat open ending (in terms of several plot references) was a bit or a courageous path they took. I explained earlier why I think so. This film deserves a better slot and it is a bit sad that one of the two writers does not live anymore, actually died before the age of 60 already, but I hope that at least the other riter from the duo can perhaps influence a few more television releases in a positive way in the coming years. Just like he did here. I give this movie a thumbs-up. Go see it and if you haven't enough yet when the closing credits roll in, then go for the American movie "A Walk to Remember" afterwards. That one deals with a similar subject and is one of my favorite films of all time. But as for now, go see this one.
