This movie is symptomatical for the bleak state german film is in.
Too damn long without a compelling story to make up for it. It takes itself very, very serious although the plots are extremely predictable from the get go. It wants you to pay attention so badly, but has nothing to back it up with.
There literally is no conflict in the whole movie beside the storyline of Caroline Herfurths Character. Various supposedly "seious" scenes are unintentionally hilarious because of the dramatic tone while completely lacking great conflict. For instance the scene in the parents house when the mom lashes out on her daughter all of a sudden. There wasnt any conflict between the two beforehand. At least not one that would justify the screaming. All the issues discussed in this scene, literally come up in this scene first. You basically see two very privileged characters shouting at each other about nothing.
The storylines are also very unrealistic and have a lot of plotholes. As usual in german film the issue at hand is handled very superficially. This could be a great opportunity for showing the hardships of women in the modern times, but the plots are so unbelievable and void of any resemblance to real life it is hard to take them serious. The biggest letdown was the character of Leyla. It would be so refreshing to see an actual teenage girl growing up in a time when social media rules and sets up unrealistic expectations of a girls body. Of course none of it is shown. There is a beautiful boy chasing her right from the start with no explanation why whatsoever. They dont even talk to each other, there is no chemistry between them at all. I actually want to live in the world the writers of this movie are living in. None of value would be lost if this plotline would be cut out entirely.
Some moments in the relationship of the two teachers could be classified as sexual harassment aswell. If you are making a movie about hardships of women, dont depict catcalling as something positive or funny. This is exactly what women in real life have an issue with.
The realtionship of the two teachers is very superficial aswell. Scratch that, every relationship in this movie is superficial. This guy instantly falls in love with the girl and pushes her into a relationship by admitting his love to her AFTER ONE DATE. This is not normal behaviour and a huge red flag. The woman teacher is completely right for not engaging in this one.
The audience should feel good in the end, but NONE of the "conflicts" were resolved through conversation. We see a toxic, rich family who can not communicate with each other without screaming. The resolution comes out of nowhere. Not kidding, none of the "conflicts" in the movie are resolved by talking to each other. As it would be in a healthy relationship.
Also a symptom of german film is the extremely unbelievable behaviour of the characters. No human being acts this way as portrayed in this movie. The actions are overly dramatic, the dialog is void of authenticity. To the point you can not relate to any character at all. Very much of the plot is not justified by anything.
The baseball thing is just bad writing, squeezed in to justify the irratic and problematic behaviour of the mother. How can anybody relate to a character like that? Why was this in the movie in the first place?
The characters are as always very privileged, they are at very least upper middle class, live in lavish houses and once again i want to live in the world the writers are living in. I also want their problems because the movie depicts them as non existent.
The amount of cliches in this film is too damn high, but also usual for german movies nowadays. You can bet your bottom dollar the dance instructor is a fiery, extremely good looking latino-spanish man who doesnt care for anyones personal boundaries. The dancing lesson is of course a charade to set up the cheating storyline, who would have guessed? The handsome young man falling for Leyla all of sudden, the white knight in shining armor. The woman who needs a man to show her that love and relationship is indeed possible.
It gets so tiring after a while and is extremely painful to watch because you can predict EXACTLY what happens next. It borders on disrespect for the audiences time.
I really can not understand the high review scores, and yes i am a little bit irritated because of it. I went into this movie with my hopes up that a big mainstream german movie wouldn't suck for once but i was, of course, utterly disappointed. This is not a movie to watch, this is a movie to turn on while doing house chores or cooking not really paying attention.
I give it 4 stars because sadly it is still one of the better mainstream german films and i like the performance of Leyla and the husband.
Too damn long without a compelling story to make up for it. It takes itself very, very serious although the plots are extremely predictable from the get go. It wants you to pay attention so badly, but has nothing to back it up with.
There literally is no conflict in the whole movie beside the storyline of Caroline Herfurths Character. Various supposedly "seious" scenes are unintentionally hilarious because of the dramatic tone while completely lacking great conflict. For instance the scene in the parents house when the mom lashes out on her daughter all of a sudden. There wasnt any conflict between the two beforehand. At least not one that would justify the screaming. All the issues discussed in this scene, literally come up in this scene first. You basically see two very privileged characters shouting at each other about nothing.
The storylines are also very unrealistic and have a lot of plotholes. As usual in german film the issue at hand is handled very superficially. This could be a great opportunity for showing the hardships of women in the modern times, but the plots are so unbelievable and void of any resemblance to real life it is hard to take them serious. The biggest letdown was the character of Leyla. It would be so refreshing to see an actual teenage girl growing up in a time when social media rules and sets up unrealistic expectations of a girls body. Of course none of it is shown. There is a beautiful boy chasing her right from the start with no explanation why whatsoever. They dont even talk to each other, there is no chemistry between them at all. I actually want to live in the world the writers of this movie are living in. None of value would be lost if this plotline would be cut out entirely.
Some moments in the relationship of the two teachers could be classified as sexual harassment aswell. If you are making a movie about hardships of women, dont depict catcalling as something positive or funny. This is exactly what women in real life have an issue with.
The realtionship of the two teachers is very superficial aswell. Scratch that, every relationship in this movie is superficial. This guy instantly falls in love with the girl and pushes her into a relationship by admitting his love to her AFTER ONE DATE. This is not normal behaviour and a huge red flag. The woman teacher is completely right for not engaging in this one.
The audience should feel good in the end, but NONE of the "conflicts" were resolved through conversation. We see a toxic, rich family who can not communicate with each other without screaming. The resolution comes out of nowhere. Not kidding, none of the "conflicts" in the movie are resolved by talking to each other. As it would be in a healthy relationship.
Also a symptom of german film is the extremely unbelievable behaviour of the characters. No human being acts this way as portrayed in this movie. The actions are overly dramatic, the dialog is void of authenticity. To the point you can not relate to any character at all. Very much of the plot is not justified by anything.
The baseball thing is just bad writing, squeezed in to justify the irratic and problematic behaviour of the mother. How can anybody relate to a character like that? Why was this in the movie in the first place?
The characters are as always very privileged, they are at very least upper middle class, live in lavish houses and once again i want to live in the world the writers are living in. I also want their problems because the movie depicts them as non existent.
The amount of cliches in this film is too damn high, but also usual for german movies nowadays. You can bet your bottom dollar the dance instructor is a fiery, extremely good looking latino-spanish man who doesnt care for anyones personal boundaries. The dancing lesson is of course a charade to set up the cheating storyline, who would have guessed? The handsome young man falling for Leyla all of sudden, the white knight in shining armor. The woman who needs a man to show her that love and relationship is indeed possible.
It gets so tiring after a while and is extremely painful to watch because you can predict EXACTLY what happens next. It borders on disrespect for the audiences time.
I really can not understand the high review scores, and yes i am a little bit irritated because of it. I went into this movie with my hopes up that a big mainstream german movie wouldn't suck for once but i was, of course, utterly disappointed. This is not a movie to watch, this is a movie to turn on while doing house chores or cooking not really paying attention.
I give it 4 stars because sadly it is still one of the better mainstream german films and i like the performance of Leyla and the husband.
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