System Crasher

Directress Nora Fingscheidt had previously only worked on documentaries and it shows - in a wonderful way. Best described as hyper-realistic cinema, the movie is a "slice of life" experience spanning only a few weeks of the trying life of 9-year-old girl Benni and everyone involved in it.

It is never made quite clear (at least not comprehensively) what exactly it is Benni is suffering from, but that's not essential to a non-professional audience anyway. To a layman, it appears to be a form of mental instability that requires intensive professional care and medical assistance. However, neither seems to be sufficient treatment as Benni's mood heavily fluctuates between moments of relative calmness and aggressive hypomania all throughout the movie. As a consequence, she's constantly battling social isolation and caught in between her most human need for affectionateness and her conditions disposition of pushing everyone away from her. The movie also brilliantly displays, in what I consider maybe its strongest feat, the emotional and professional hardships everyone surrounding her experiences as a result. Even today, there's very little understanding or appreciation for social work in our society, that is, labor that does not immediately generate monetary value. The movie does its part in educating the viewer, not in a condescending way but entirely through imagery. Its multifaceted approach encompasses any and all points of view, individual motivations and emotions, the eventual judgement however is left entirely up to the audience.

The acting is undoubtably meriting all the praise directed its way and then some. Flawless across the board. It wouldn't work otherwise. Helena Zengel does a magnificent job at playing Benni, surely someone to watch for the future.

Without elaborating too much, there's one peculiar cinematographic detail I'd like to mention that stood out to me: The color palette is heavy on pink, a traditionally "girly" color, that is used in most innovative ways that can be best understood if you're familiar with Julian Schnabel's Van Gogh, a las puertas de la eternidad (2018). Like Schnabel, Fingscheidt uses color to further emphasize the gravitas of certain emotional situations. As opposed to "seeing red", the young girl literally sees pink in scenes of extreme anger and distress and we, as the viewer, are confronted with a bold pink overlay blocking out everything else. One cannot help but notice the (most certainly intended) irony in using a color such as pink that is associated with cuteness and innocence and turn it into what later on in the movie has conditioned the audience to expect rage fits of the worst kind.

That is not to say that the movie represents a particularly feminine point of view. The issue is, at its core, a gender neutral one.

In short, a hearty recommendation to any serious moviegoer.

To me, this movie was comparable in some ways to "The Good Son" from the 1990's with Macaulay Culkin and Elijah Wood. The difference between Benni and Culkin's character though is that Benni does not act out just for the thrill of it or the purpose of acting evil. She is just a girl with major mental health issues, which appear to more than likely be the result of schizophrenia. She has violent outbursts that she can't control and you can tell throughout the movie that she wants to change but is unable to do so at that stage in her life.

On top of the out of control mental outbursts, she is thrown into ever changing situations and environments that it seems would only confuse her and make her healing process more difficult. The doctors cannot seem to find the proper medication to balance her out and at one point even prescribe her a schizophrenia medication that is meant for adults, and she is only nearly 10 years old. As far as that part goes, I travelled that path myself as a child with being prescribed medication that is meant for adults at that age and it does not do your mental health any good when you are a child to take medicine that is designed for someone who's brain is further along in development.

This is a very powerful film. If you yourself have struggled with mental illness from a young age, you will probably find yourseld relating to certain aspects of this movie as I did. Its definitely worth a watch.

Unbelievable, impeccable performance by the little girl who shakes up the life and faith of many good people that genuinely want to help but are pushed to their limits. Unusual dramaturgy but realistically showing the back and forths of such an extreme case. Great camera and sound to support this excursion into the world of a lovely but hardly bearable girl who is innocent of her condition due to a failed family structure. Very moving film that raises important questions. Incredible debut work.

If this film is hard to stomach, or sit through, or you had to close your eyes and hold your ears through tough parts.....then this film succeeded in its main task of showcasing very real and difficult to treat psychiatric conditions. It can be a little rough to watch at times but also heart warming too so it won't be a total downer the entire time. If you find this film a worthy watch then check out 'Mommy' 2014 to see how this progresses. I rated this an 8, for good, but you'll have to see for yourself to be a fair judge.

I'm glad I watched this movie in Hong Kong. It reminds me how I overcome my broken childhood by myself. Problem families should have more concerns and facilities for their children. Children will grow up happily and become strong adults. This's a lovely German movie. Thank you.