Spielzeugland

I just saw Spielzeugland and recognized the whole plot almost from the beginning. I am positive I've seen it before, or read it. Does anyone else remember it? There was a Q&A with the writer and he didn't mention getting the plot from somewhere else. Anyone out there know this story from a maybe book or a t.v. show? That said, I did find it very moving and upsetting. The actress who played the mother did a fine job, as did the piano teacher. People may say holocaust-themed movies are overdone, but I don't think so; that era needs to be kept alive in peoples' minds so that it doesn't fade into oblivion as the final survivors die out. It's hard to believe the entire film is only l4 minutes long.

Usually, I don't watch short films but after seeing and reviewing about five feature films in three days, I needed to see a movie that could capture a gamut of emotions in few minutes and that is precisely what 'Toyland' does. It takes one of the most crucial periods in history - the holocaust and brings it down to the lives of two families and an incident that changes the course of their lives in the dark period.

A mother finds her son Heinrich missing one day, after she tells him the previous day that their neighbors are moving to Toyland. The prospect of going to a place filled with toys titillates Heinrich and he gets too eager to go with the neighbors, which includes his best friend Paul. The first seven minutes oscillate between flashbacks of Heinrich's excitement and the mother's frantic search. This leads to an end that is so poignant, gripping, chilling and fascinating that it brought tears to my eyes. The fourteen minute film so effortlessly manages to touch the audiences that it truly deserves all the accolades that it has got. 8 out of 10.

Potently seen through the eyes of two young boys, the rise of Nazi-ism is depicted as "David" (Tamay Bulut Ozvatan), a Jew, and his family must make preparations for a trip whilst the mother of the other (Julia Jäger) must make preparations to lie to her son about just what is going on in their country now. They boys have no appreciation of the dangers and so armed with his bear "Little Paul" the two insist on travelling together. Can his mother track down "Heinrich" (Cedric Eich) before it's too late? It's chilling, this film - not just the effects of the snow on the ground but these ghastly yellow stars stitched like targets upon the clothing of the unwilling travellers. The boys think they are going to "Toyland".... Scary stuff well presented with an effective minimum of dialogue.

The moment I heard melancholy piano instrumental played on the background, I felt to be pulled by a film. From a German language actress speaks and her serious reaction to the missing son, I soon noticed it is a story about The Holocaust. At first, it is slightly difficult to follow the story, because it is told from two perspectives of German mother and David, her son, in two timelines. The first scene starts with David's mother going to find David, who is seemingly captured by SS. In the next scene of David and Heinrich playing the piano together, we finally understand why David is missing. One of the most impressive moments is the interaction between the mother and David. The mother cannot honestly tell David the cruel truth about entrainment of Jewish, and instead lies that they will go to "Toyland." Watching unsatisfied David and the conversation between David and Heinrich, Jewish friend of David, we come to see why David vanishes from his bed. On the latter part, I was really thrilled by the struggle to reach David by his mother. In every sequence such as finding the teddy bear, being suspected as Jewish by the police, and final arrival to the train where David is, the contents are considerably concentrated, and I couldn't avert my eyes.

Toyland is a short drama film. It was made in Germany in 2007. This won an Oscar in 2009. The setting is the German Nazi regime. A mother finds her son is not in their house when his Jewish friend is taken away in the morning. The mother is looking for him because she remembers she says the concentration camp is the Toyland to her son when she is asked about the concentration camp and the son wants to go there. She goes to search the train which conveys Jewish people to the concentration camp and she only finds the friend's family. When she encounters the family, she takes action. I think the story makes the audience confused. However, I feel the complex order of the story is a charm of the film because I was surprised by the revealed facts as the story goes on. Moreover, the last scene is moving. I think the audience may want to watch this film again and again.