Honig im Kopf

Go and see this film, next week, tomorrow, right now!

No matter how old you are or of what gender or what you think about both Til Schweiger or Dieter Hallervorden. Go and see this film. It's worth it. It will touch you, even if you're a tough guy. It will amaze you. It will make you silently cry into your tissue. Silently, because you don't want to miss out on the next joke. Yes, this film is drama and comedy and character study and at the same time not shy to do fart jokes. It's the best by and with Til Schweiger I've seen and I certainly don't fancy him. But he knows so well what he is doing and in this film he placed himself rather in the background.

Because the foreground is taken by Dieter Hallervorden, known for silly silly silly comedies in the 70s and 80s and delivering here a performance which is prizeworthy. And by Emma Schweiger, who is not only an actor's cute daughter dragged in front of the camera to make daddy happy, but she can act and very well so and carries with her eleven years one half of the film on her shoulders.

Go and see this film. And you, distributors out there in the world, make sure people around the world CAN actually see this film and bring it to lots and lots and lots of cinemas. Everywhere. North, south, east, west. Please. I never give ten out of ten, but this time there was no other choice. I couldn't give eleven out of ten.

See. This. Film!

A beautifully filmed but ultimately disappointing film. The first hour, watching an utterly clueless couple in complete denial about the mental state of the husband's father isn't funny - it's painful and disturbing. The saving grace is that this is probably how so many people really do try to deal with a loved one with dementia. Apparently no one in the family knows how to look up more information on the Internet about dementia and caregiving. No idea whatsoever as to why the husband stays with the wife, who is completely unsympathetic. The grand-daughter and grandfather are charming - but that no one intervenes when, say, they see this young child removing this old man's pants on a train is just unbelievable. The film is worth watching to explain to someone what dementia can look like, but it is NOT a good film for explaining how to care for someone with such (except to say "Here's what NOT to do.").

I would like to talk about two characters and the way their attitude is being dangerously idealized in the movie:

First of all, Tilda, the small child almost takes over the responsibility of her parents, taking her grandfather to a trip abroad. She witnesses how her grandpa slowly loses the capability of leading his own life and this is simply not something that a child can handle psychologically. For a child to carry such parental responsibilities is being referred to as a severe trauma in psychology and it shouldn't be idealized in a movie. Moreover, when she takes off with her grandpa, interestingly no one ever wonders where she may be and what may happen to them. So instead of being deeply worried for her, Niko and Sarah brush up their sex life. Really?!

Secondly, Sarah, Niko's wife is portrayed as a very unpleasant character and in the movie, this is tied to the fact that she doesn't want her husband's father to live with them. At the end, where the character transforms into an ideal (!) woman, she quits her job to look after Amandus and to spend more time with her daughter. This is nothing but a gender stereotype being reinforced in a very emotionally abusive manner. Again, such experiences have caused and are causing many women in the world to have traumatic experiences when it comes to having a family and wanting to realize themselves.

I was very disappointed to see so many gender stereotypes being reinforced in the movie. The people of this world have endured enough traumas and they should not be idealized in any way, let alone in a movie by Til Schweiger that is guaranteed to reach millions of people.

Everyone have to see this wonderful movie. I was in cinemas 4times for this movie and can't get enough from it. It is a wonderful story and so many people fall in love with this movie and try now to understand there parents or grandparents better, even if they had this illness. The absolutely best movie of Til Schweiger and especially from his wonderful young daughter Emma who will be a great worldwide actress soon, she is 12 years old and played so wonderful :) And the best role is the role from the grandparent Amandus, brilliant play from Dieter Hallervorden. I love all of this movie - you really have to see it !!! I hope that this movie get a lot of prices soon, the German crowd fall in love with it :)

What might look overdone at times to me. Is a beautiful depiction of what. It feels like to care for an aging family member.

Maybe for some people this movie seems overdone or is not easy to relate to, but I was spending lots and lots of time as a young man with my grandma when her memory and worldly abilities started to fade, and this movie hits home.

It's not trying to be educational first or change the world but rather display an aspect of life that we almost all go through in one way or another in a touching and entertaining way.

I enjoyed the choice of actors as well as the visual intensity, which made the movie more "real" for me, as supposed to just looking realistic.