Sieben Sommersprossen

This movie is pretty much as you'd expect. A bunch of teens in camp do a play about Romeo and Juliet, but off-stage a romance takes place. It's neither badly done, nor particularly interesting or different. The high rating is a bit misleading and undeserved, as despite being a dated film, offers nothing notable for now or for then, either plot-wise or from a cinematic point of view.

It only runs 15 minutes longer than an hour, but as there are many scenes that bridge the main plot it feels a lot longer than it actually is.

I can't say it is worthwhile seeking out this movie, it is well enough acted, but comes across as a "made for TV" film that doesn't develop the characters well and doesn't excite the viewer into wanting to find out what happens next, as it is all so very predictable.

The film starts and ends in a teen holiday-camp. As the plot develops, it becomes most obvious that there would must be a romantic relationship between two heterosexual teens - Karoline Hinze (Kareen Schroter) and Robert (Harald Rathmann) . And such relationship must have some limitations and secrecy without question. Secret dating takes place in a secret place. Result - first sex, sacrificing of virginity. Contains Nudity? Yes, full frontal teenage nudity, nude swimming, nude kissing - everything but the "real sex" can be seen for about 5-8 minutes. A humorous sequence occurs when two little kids stole the clothes of the naked couple while they were relaxing beside the lake. The kids throw the clothes in the water that carried away the clothes leaving no chance to get them. Although, the kids later provide some peculiar clothes that the couple used to cover their bodies and return the camp.

This review is not intended to allure people who enjoy the coming of age teenage nudity. Only nudity should not be taken into account to credit the director as well as the various characters. The main two characters played well. Other consequences of the film, what can be expected to be included in a holiday camp, like the staged play of Romeo and Juliet, are beautifully presented. All the characters including adult and child actors have shown their ability to act naturally. To me this film is not in any way overrated. It is of course a beautiful combination/mixture of comedy, drama and romance which is of nice texture and tastes and digests well. Anyway, the plot may be predicted to some, if not many, as a well acted film, Sieben Sommersprossen is worthwhile to watch.

Recently, I've watched the Blu-ray release of this East German classic. Audio visual quality is perfect for a high resolution 1080p Blu-ray at the original aspect ratio of 1.85:1. "Seven Freckles" is the Blu-ray title and you can order one from Amazon.com at €13.99.