Der Vorname

I saw this movie during a trans-Atlantic flight. This is a German comedy-of-errors centered around a family member's desire to name their new child, "Adolph." This desire causes horror and disgust in the family, but it also exposes the very fragile bonds which exist among the family members. Who says Germans have no sense of humor? The script is witty, the repartee between antagonistic members in these families is genuinely funny, and the surprises we learn about their family secrets are unexpected but do not break the audience's necessary suspension of disbelief. It is an interesting look into German middle class life which does not always receive. Much recommended.

The premise for the film is the conflict that naming your child "Adolf" could cause in your family. That alone would not be enough to sustain a full feature film, and indeed this is only a starting point.

A whole host of family secrets are unraveled in the process, how they think about one another, what they have done in the past and present. It is like throwing a burning match into the store of a gunpowder fabric and making damn sure it stays alight. The result pushes their relations in way one might otherwise see in a Luis Bunuel film, just staying one step short of surrealism.

There are small hints here and there that this is French (rather than German) in its origin, and it may have been better (with a German cast) to adapt these subtle cultural differences to place this in a pure German setting.

Anyway, this is very entertaining for its witty dialogue. The after-the-party events that concluded the piece seemed unnecessary.

The first temptation is to define it as provocative. For situations, humor, dialogue, clash between characters and adorable end. But it is more. It is a realistic - precise portrait of contemporary family. Eccentric ideas, secrets far to be comfortable, couple huge problems, wives and husbands - and a mother in not ordinary situation- , love and hate in large portions. A nice comedy for its smart levels.

I had no idea that germans can be funny 😃 Soooo funny and every 10 minutes something new happens ! I had second thoughts cause of the language, hard for me to listen, but i am happy i ignored that. Great movie !

This film managed to find the fine balance between social critique, a theme that German society is almost obsessed with, and humor. It gives the audience the sense of a theatrical drama, as most of the movie is shot between the living room and dinner table, albeit with varying camera angles, which is a challenge by itself as the audience can easily get bored if the conversation is not engaging enough, which is not the case with this film. You can have a good time without being interested in the underlying political discussion, although you would probably enjoy it more if you are interested in the reflection of German intelligentsia on the modern day impact of Nazi Germany's legacy on its society. The script is well-thought out, genuinely funny, and demonstrates that German cinema has the artistic skill to produce a high quality comedy. I highly recommend it.