Spielzeugland

Plot synopsis:
The film is set in Nazi Germany in 1942. An Aryan family, the Meißners, and a Jewish family, the Silbersteins, are neighbors and friends. The respective sons in each family, Heinrich Meißner and David Silberstein, discreetly take piano lessons together. The deportation of the Silbersteins to a concentration camp is imminent, and when Heinrich asks why they may have to go soon, Frau Meißner does not tell Heinrich the truth. She instead invents a story that the Silbersteins will go to a new place called "Toyland". Heinrich says that when the Silbersteins go, he wants to go with them, so that he can still be with his friend David, which terrifies Frau Meißner.
The morning the Silbersteins are taken away for deportation, Heinrich is found missing from his room. His mother, Marianne Meißner begins to search for Heinrich. She encounters ridicule from Gestapo officers after she explains her situation, because they think that she is Jewish. However, after she shows her papers that prove that she is Aryan, they accept her story about Heinrich and assist in searching for him. The search continues until the last moment before the train with the Silbersteins on it must leave.
When the train doors are opened, Marianne calls out to Heinrich. The crowd moves aside and Marianne sees a boy she thinks is Heinrich hugging the Silbersteins, but instead it is David. A flashback shows that when the Silbersteins were taken away, Heinrich was not allowed to join them. Marianne realizes that Heinrich is not with them, but - to save his life - calls out to David as though he is Heinrich. The Silbersteins let go of him and all continue the ruse that David is Heinrich. David returns to the Meißners home where he is raised with Heinrich as their own son.

Tags: flashback

Review:
"Toyland" is a film that works so brilliantly that it managed to be powerful, thought-provoking and even gut-wrenching than most Hollywood films that are 8 to 10 times longer.
With sparse dialogue, director Jochen Alexander Freydank keeps us hooked throughout this superb short film.Set during the Holocaust, a German woman frantically searches for her son, who might have decided to accompany his Jewish neighbors to a Nazi concentration camp because the Jewish family's young son and her son are best friends.The film is elegantly shot and wonderfully acted.
There is more poignancy and true emotion in this film than I have seen in most Hollywood films in recent times.Director Freydank moves his story along, with us always wondering not only what comes next but how this is going to end.
Believe me, it will be time much better spent than, say, on "New In Town" or most any other mainstream Hollywood film..
Today I went with three friends to a special showing of all the films nominated for the 2009 Oscar for Best Live Action Short.
Our pick for best of the nominees was PIG ("Grisen"), though ON THE LINE ("Auf der Strecke") was a very good film and is nearly as deserving of the award.
We predicted that TOYLAND ("Spielzeugland"), however, will win the award because it's the sort of the film the Academy tends to like AND because PIG might ruffle some feathers because it is not "politically correct".
I'll update this review after the awards are given.TOYLAND is a film set during the Nazi era.
A boy asks his mother about why all his neighbors (all Jews) are disappearing.
Unfortunately, it sounds like such a nice place that the kid hopes to go there, too, and the film begins with him sneaking off with a shipment of Jews to the concentration camps because he wants to visit this magical place.Much of the film consists of the mother trying to find the boy and eventually the SS officers help her to try to locate the boy.
This all ends in a marvelous twist that I won't reveal here, but this twist takes the film from the ordinary to the extraordinary.A lovely film that will probably win--in part, because the film is about an important subject that the Academy seems to like, the Holocaust (and highly reminiscent of LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL), and in part because it is so exceptionally well-crafted from start to finish.
Usually, I don't watch short films but after seeing and reviewing about five feature films in three days, I needed to see a movie that could capture a gamut of emotions in few minutes and that is precisely what 'Toyland' does.
It takes one of the most crucial periods in history - the holocaust and brings it down to the lives of two families and an incident that changes the course of their lives in the dark period.A mother finds her son Heinrich missing one day, after she tells him the previous day that their neighbors are moving to Toyland.
The prospect of going to a place filled with toys titillates Heinrich and he gets too eager to go with the neighbors, which includes his best friend Paul.
This film is a good way to show the terribleness of war to the audience.
The story is based on the German history of Jewish persecution controlled by the Nazi.
In the movie, the two boys keep their lifelong friendship because a mother's mercurial brilliance helps a child not to go to "the Toyland."
I like the story process of this movie, especially how she saves her children.
I was into the film the entire time; however, at some point, it was a little confusing to catch up with the story because of the complexity of the timeline.
Also, I felt relaxed and comfortable at the end although the content of the movie contains heavy topic such as the Nazi control happened in Germany.
The moment I heard melancholy piano instrumental played on the background, I felt to be pulled by a film.
From a German language actress speaks and her serious reaction to the missing son, I soon noticed it is a story about The Holocaust.
At first, it is slightly difficult to follow the story, because it is told from two perspectives of German mother and David, her son, in two timelines.
In the next scene of David and Heinrich playing the piano together, we finally understand why David is missing.
The mother cannot honestly tell David the cruel truth about entrainment of Jewish, and instead lies that they will go to "Toyland." Watching unsatisfied David and the conversation between David and Heinrich, Jewish friend of David, we come to see why David vanishes from his bed.
In every sequence such as finding the teddy bear, being suspected as Jewish by the police, and final arrival to the train where David is, the contents are considerably concentrated, and I couldn't avert my eyes..
Toyland discusses a theme that has been discussed several times on different films: the Second World War. However, what makes this short film special is the sensibility of this portrait.
Instead of showing the explicit violence of the war, it touches the audience by showing two kids - a German and a Jewish, who are best friends and are going to be separated because the Jewish boy's family is going to be sent to a concentration camp.
In order to avoid shocking the young German boy, her mother says that his friend is going with his family to Toyland.
The depiction of the effect of war through the eyes of kids is not something new: in a completely different tone, Janos Szasz has done the same in his adaptation of The Notebook, a novel written by Ágota Kristof; and The boy in the Striped Pyjamas has a similar story.
However, even if the theme is not new, Toyland is still a surprisingly intense short film.
It mixes scenes of the mother looking for her son after the Germans had taken the Jewish to the concentration camps and flashbacks of what happened before this - how close the two kids were and how the German boy decided to follow his friend to Toyland.
There will be mild spoilers ahead: The basic premise of this short is that a Jewish family is about to be deported to a camp and when another boy whose best friend is among those going away asks his mother just where they're going, she tells him what she thinks is a comforting lie-that his friend David is going to "Toyland".Naturally, the other little boy, Heinrich, wants to go with his friend, only to be told by everyone that he can't go, with no real explanation, just that he can't go.
He decides he's going, regardless of what anyone says and so he packs a bag and follows them to the train.His mother finds out he's missing and races off to find him before it's too late.
Ultimately, they believe that she's serious and they go to check the train.The ending of the short is quite good and should be seen.
This film is a sad story that happened in Germany in 1942..
The lead roles were played by a mother, called Marianne, her son, called Heinrich, and her son's friend (a Jewish boy).
The supporting characters were played by the Jewish boy's father and mother.
One was the part where Marianne pretended that David was her son, risking to be discovered by the Nazis and also when his parents decided to give him to Marianne, knowing that doing this will save his life, even though it was a terrible pain, for them, to see her son with another mother.
It shows the Jewish people's suffering in the war.The plot was about a child who lived in Germany in 1942 and he had a Jewish friend, called David.
Heinrich, the German boy, insistently asked her mother where his friend was going to.
She finally answered that he was going to Toyland because his Jewish father had a new job.
Heinrich mother's said "Toyland" since she didn't want to say "concentration camp".
Her son wanted to go to Toyland with his Jewish fiend because he thought it was a place full of toys and they could have fun there.
There she didn't find Heinrich but she found David and she saved him because if she didn't do it, the Jewish boy would have died in the concentration camp.
This is what the little German boy shouts when he is given back to his mother and taken away from his best friend who is about to go on a journey to Toyland.
This 14-minute short was written and directed by Jochen Alexander Freydank and won an Academy Award and many many other prizes at film festivals all around the globe.
It is a bit sad to see that, to this date, Freydank (and his co-writer) have not managed to build on that Oscar win at all in terms of full feature films, although he has been more prolific in recent years than right after the big victory.
Julia Jäger, on the other hand, the lead actress has been very prolific before and after this film.I personally thought this was a good short movie.
And the mother is not the smartest either if she believes she can keep the son from joining his best friend by telling there are huge teddy bears in Toyland.
Obviously, the whole Toyland idea was a massive lie to confront her son not with the evil that was going on (if she was understanding it herself), but the consequence of this lie was finally that little Heinrich was confronted with it as much as it could have happened.
This film is based on the sad history, discrimination, and massacre of Jewish people.
There are two boys who like to play the piano, one is Jewish, and the other one Heinrich is not, and they are best friends.
One day, Heinrich's mother finds that her son is gone, and misunderstands that he went with his friend because she used to tell him they are going to the Toyland.
She asks and explains to police that her son is gone and she is not Jewish, and she finally reaches the train carrying only Jewish people.
The story is about Jewish mother and her son.
She thinks he is picked up by German police for Holocaust with her Jewish neighborhood.
In my opinion, the point of this short film is time series.
Because of it, the story is not simple to understand, however, by not showing the scene that Heinlish fails to follow David's family until the last part, audiences grasp when the mother sees David became more effective.
The old hands playing the piano in the very last scene is touching one, however, I could not understand the choices of the pictures after that.
This is a short film directed by Jochen Alexander Freydank.
The story of this film is somewhat similar to The Boy in the Striped Pajamas.
A mother of the missing German boy tries to find him, and encounters a Jew family.
I think the director is awesome because he expresses really important things about the bonds of people in the age of holocaust in very short length of movie, which is only 13 minutes long.
I think that this short film reflects the historical background well so that the audience is naturally attracted to its real-like setting.
First, it would be quite unlikely for a little kid to sneaks out of his room in the early morning without being noticed by any family members in his house, and it is often the case with such a young boy that he forgets the words he tells others yesterday.
Furthermore, as the scene where the German police officers bring mother to the train which is about to leave to the concentration camp in order to find let her find her son, it is dubious whether this kind of situation could really happen at that time.
Therefore, even though I like the music, actors and the well-reflection of the history of this short film, I admit that it still can be improved in terms of the scenario..
Toyland is a short film taking place Nazi Germany which portrays Jewish people's internment.
There are two German and Jewish boys who like playing the piano together and one day they know the Jewish boy and his family will be taken to the place "toyland", which is German mother names to hide the cruel fact which is internment.
She has tried to persuade his son however, in the early morning, he left his home with Jewish family secretly because he has promised that he will do anything together with the Jewish boy and be attracted to toyland.
For example, until the middle of the film, I cannot know if the mother and his son are German or Jewish, or why and how the boy leaves his home even though the story goes forward.
Since this film has a bit complex structure, I sometimes get confused, however, it makes me more surprised or feel thrilled when I know those facts or background information after or while the story goes on.
I also like the shot in which the mother takes the son's friend since she does not find his real son.
There is no conversation in this shot, however, the friend's parents' and the German mother's facial expression shows that their deep love to their son and strong determination..
The short film Toyland is a story about a German family and a Jewish family.
For example, at the beginning, aa boy is gone and his mohter goes ot find him, but next scene is very different situation.
Also, this film shows how the discrimination against Jewish people by German people was like.
In the film, Jewish people are insulted by police as if ther are not humans.
In additon, they are taken to "Toyland." This is a secret language that the mother uses to her son.
One thing I couldn't understand was the scene that German boy and his friend's father who is Jewish are talking about their secret.
Overall, this film was very goodfor me since it was moving and let me think about the history..
It is Natzi Germany, the friend of Heinrich who is Jewish will be send to the concentration camps.
The mother told Heinrich that the Jewish boy is going to "toyland".
Heinrich wants to go to " toyland " as well and one day he disappears.
The movie has a really mechanical scene changes telling two sides of the story .
The part that the mother is looking for the disappeared Heinrich and the scene of setup and revealing the truth.
In the begging is a little confusing but you definitely understand the story by the end.
I liked that you realize in the end that the mother's actions are the key of the story.
Toyland is about a young boy who wants to join his best friend on his journey to Toyland.
Unbeknownst to the boy, Toyland is not the magical place he thinks it is, but is in fact a concentration camp.
The boy soon disappears and his mother goes searching for him, hoping to find him before he takes an unfortunate journey.
This short film builds a lot of tension into the idea that the woman may be too late to save her son.
There is a nice twist at the end of the panic that makes this short film a worthwhile watch.
Overall, Toyland does something in its small runtime that very few feature length films can and that is get you invested in what is going to happen.
This short film is about discrimination and the massacre of Jewish people.
The main character is a young boy who is learning how to play the piano.
One day, the boy's mother finds that her son is gone.
In the bunch of Jewish people, the mother finds a boy.
She thinks that is her son, but the boy was the son's best friend.
The mother notices that he is not her son, but keeps pretending that is her son, and save the boy from going there.
While the plot is well planned, so I like the film overall..
"Toyland" is a short film which is about a German boy who follows his Jewish friend who is actually going to a concentration camp.
The boy thinks the friend is going to "Toyland" because his mother lies so and he believes the lie.I personally liked this film because it was very emotional and touching.
The film shows what really happened in Germany during Second World War without any violent scenes.
The film successfully conveys the sadness and the darkness of what actually happened.The film was also about friendship between the German boy and the Jewish boy.
I realized what happened at that time was really cruel.What I also liked about the film is that it was not chronological order.
The film is from two sides: what happens to the boy and what happens to his mother.
A little German boy and his neighborhood little Jewish boy are good friends like blood brother.
One day, a German boy tries to go on a trip to Toyland with his best friend.
I think that the mother saves him simply for his son and the Jewish parents.
Overall, this film makes us think about the history of Jewish people and Nazi Germany and reminds us not to make it such tragedy again..
The story is about a kid wanting to go to "toyland." The story happen during the Nazi's time.
Their whole family is going to toyland and the little boy wants to go with them.
In the end, the mother finds the police and stop the train in time before it goes away.
However, I like this short film very much.