The German "Shawshank Redemption"

Rating: 10/10 (22 May 2007)

I just saw this film this past weekend, I wanted to catch it because it looks like it will be leaving the theaters here shortly, no doubt to be replaced by some God-awful American summer blockbuster...
I call this the German "Shawshank Redemption" because like Shawshank, I left the cinema feeling clean, a phenomena I have only noticed with "To Kill a Mockingbird", when I say clean, I mean my faith in human dignity and the human condition is restored. Another thing is has in common with Shawshank is that you see the worst in human nature but at the very end, you also see the very best in us too.
The director clearly has faith in the good we can do to each other, and why not? We see enough stupidity and ugliness in film, why not reflect on the beauty also? Everything about this film is top-notch, the direction, the actors, the production, the dialog, the visuals, the close-ups - proof-positive that as long as you have a competent crew and an excellent script, then you don't need hundreds of millions to make a film, that you can make an excellent film with the simplest of elements as long as you know exactly what message you want to convey - a lesson many a studio-head in LA can think about.
It's an indictment on the film industry that this masterpiece will not be seen by the millions of film-goers the world over and have the audience it deserves, that only the film festival crowds, the art-house film crowd and the IFC-channel crowd will be gifted by this film. If it's playing in your town, make it a point to see it before it goes.
Now there's buzz that some Hollywood director may make an "American" version of this in English - big mistake if you ask me - Look what happened when they touched Wim Wenders' "Wings of Desire" ---> "City of Angels" - don't do it, leave this film alone, it deserves to be seen in it's original format, the reality of the former East Germany, the Stasi, the real cost of freedom and democracy are all lessons we need to know about.