Ein spätes Mädchen

. . . about a mousy late-bloomer (hence the title) who, for inexplicable reasons, falls in love with a seemingly mute drifter whose helpless ears she fills with the most uninteresting drivel imaginable. Unfortunately, the audience has to bear her incessant spouting of boring nonsense about plum pies and music teachers, too. The photography is fashionably desaturated, the acting seriously sub par - much-praised Haberlandt recites most of her incredibly stilted lines like a third-grader auditioning for a part in the annual school play - and, apart from inexcusably abusing the Langley Schools Music Project's version of "The Long and Winding Road", the score features the usual piano tinkling, combined with the scratchy strains of your regulation string quartet. Abominable.

This move is not a love story. It is a story about the German soul and its straitjackets at the start of the millennium. It is about Wiesbaden, Frankfurt, and Vienna, and what unites them and separates them. It is not a movie that travels well--it requires an understanding of German character.and offers no handy explanations. I'm sure there is a subtitled version available but it almost makes no sense to have such a thing. If you don't know the language, you probably don't know enough about the various personality types to appreciate what the film has to offer. I think this explains the wide range of ratings. Those expecting the movie to be about the characters and their relationships are disappointed. Those who see it as a piece about a particular place and time in Europe are rewarded.

No pun intended - as consumers and in this case also reviewer, we as individuals are informed and decide (rate/enjoy/consume) on what we take in. That said, even growing up in Germany does not make you privy or gives you a better understanding of all the people here (or regions for that matter). Which is kind of important in the movie - while it is about the characters, there is some .. let's call it "germanness" in this.

A girl that is too late - is she though? And is this also a showcase for Schweighöfer who has come to become a bigger star - also known in the US. Though he may have had his 15 minutes already! I do think he is more likely to do a comeback - more so than Til Schweiger who certainly will not be back on top there. Anyway, if you like dramas and slow burning movies, this is for you ... remember this is a tv movie, so nothing fancy either!