Robert Zimmermann wundert sich über die Liebe

Leander Haussmann is such a goof ball. Whatever he touches turns into a travesty. Don't get me wrong. I like a good laugh. Who doesn't? But when everything's just a joke, nothing is funny and plots fall apart. Without the bitter, the sweet ain't the sweet, as Cameron Crowe once put it. "Robert Zimmermann" is a shallow comedy set in a fabricated limbo land half-way between the present and the post-war past. Robert, a computer game designer with the looks and moves of a 15-year old kid, falls in love with his laundry lady, a single mom and some 40 years Robert's senior, baffling his girlfriend, his buddies, and his parents. But then, his father keeps a twenty-something mistress, his mother tests the waters of menopausal romance, and his lesbian sister is pregnant with her childhood sweetheart's offspring. The only good thing about this movie is Annika Kuhl. She plays Robert's sister Pia and the minute you see her, you believe her character has a life off the screen, perhaps even some sort of secret. By comparison, everyone else is just an extra. Think of Pia as this movie's Margot Tenenbaum. Incidentally, she is also the director's girlfriend. He obviously has better taste in women than he has in movies. Guest appearance by Art Garfunkel's son.

a young man. a middle age woman. and a love story like huge pizza. cultural references, a black boy, video game industry slices, disorganized family, picture from Hamburg, few drops of cinnamon and milk, old recipes but a good result. a smart comedy , without great ambitions but with delicate since of measure. and this is good point.because each aspect of modern world is presented in sweet light. because The Graduade and Bob Dylan, the unhappy childish father, the sister and her relation with girlfriend, the negotiation with Chinese investors and small lesson about basic values all is mixture of nostalgic and realistic vision about a small universe and its profound roots.

Leander Haussmann brings us his best movie since "Herr Lehmann" with this fast and funny new comedy. He captures Hamburg with his beautiful camera-work, brings us a great performance from an old acquaintance (Maruschka Detmers) and sets the stage for the wonderful Tom Schilling, who looks much younger than his age - which is great, because you keep wondering how old this guy actually is. The references to Bob Dylan and The Graduate are fun to find and the inspired music by Element of Crime fits perfectly. I was particularly fond of the cameo by Detlev Buck. If you have enjoyed "Sonnenallee" and "Herr Lehmann" you can look forward to this one.