Herr Lehmann

As a fan of Sven Regener's (Author of Novel and Screenplay) Band "Element of Crime" I read the book and was really looking forward to see this picture. In some way I was hoping for a better "Soloalbum", an other adaptation of a German so-called "Pop-Novel". After seeing Soloalbum I really had the desire to kill just anyone involved in this movie that was nothing but let's say an average Romantic Comedy, having deleted all the cynicism, the melancholy the humor and the truth which made the book so marvelous.

But let's get back to Herr Lehmann: I got what I hoped for!

Sven Regener carefully adapted his own story for the big screen, transforming some words into images, thoughts into dialogs, leaving out what had to be left out and keeping this special humor that was one of the characteristics of the book. The only thing I missed is the Chapter about the "Ku'damm-Bus", which I would have loved to see on screen, but who cares about this detail...

The cast (consisting of some of the best German On-Screen-Actors of the "old school" and a bunch of great Newcomers) is nearly perfect. It would take to long to name all the actors who played their roles so authentic and sometimes getting into the field of warm-hearted satire. The one that takes it all is obviously Detlev Buck playing Herr Lehmann's best friend Karl in a way that will be remembered for long time, I suppose.

The soundtrack is really cool and the photography by Frank Griebe (besides Michael Ballhaus probably the best German Cinematographer at present) finds the perfect images to illustrate the life of the Boheme in West-Berlin at the end of the 80s.

Leander Haußmann after all succeeded in even topping his first movie "Sonnenallee" and is now responsible for two of the best German pictures of the past years.

There are two different words in the German language that translate into the word "you" in English. One of them is a formal word, that is being used when you refer/talk to someone you don't know that well or as a form of respect. The other is being used by friends. The former mostly is connected to you referring to the other person as Mister (Lehmann). And this is where one of the jokes of the movie lies. The use of that word and something might be impossible to translate (I have no idea how one would try to).

That might have been a lengthy explanation to a simple joke, but hopefully it also made clear, how the humor of the movie works. And a former VJ (MTV) is in the center of it all. Watching him take his first steps into "major" acting and succeeding is more than satisfying.

Of course you can't really compare Herr Lehmann to dramatic history reenactments like Der Untergang.

But Herr Lehman is so full of comedy, but also full of authenticism and a plot not devoid of drama. It's dialogues are outstanding, but then the book the film is based on was exceptional to begin with. And the best thing is, if you like the movie, you will like the books. Sven Regener managed to show his talent in storytelling and humour in both art forms, book and movie. The connections he makes, the way he connects what actually happens to Frank Lehmann's thoughts is the best use of basic rhetoric means I ever saw. He doesn't use the "rhetoric artillery" so to speak, but achieves literary greatness nevertheless.

The acting is on par with the quality of the script though. Even if I didn't expect Christian Ulmen to do any good acting ever, he produced the perfect rendition of the lazy, slightly hedonistic, disoriented Herr Lehmann. Detlev Buck is outstanding as well, as is nearly everybody in the supporting cast.

10/10 for humour, artistic style, acting, all that while staying serious.

I definitely recommend this one to people interested in German movies.

It is a very simple story of a waiter working in a 'beer pub', but nicely told and filled with warmth which the actors carry. Hard to imagine that Christian Ulmen used to be a MTV moderator before starting acting, and Detlev Buck is so great in this one!

Want to see a 'different' movie on West/East-Germany? Then, go try it! While you might not get anything of the power of 'La Vita E Bella' or 'Amores Perros', it is a nice little comedy and gives good insights on how people in the catering branche did work before the 'Mauerfall' (wall fell)..

1. a remarkable screenplay (based on a contemporary literary classic) with several truly hilarious lines

2. fresh, charismatic characters and actors, all the more convincing for their random quirks and non-supermodel appearance

3. unconventional direction

4. one of the best soundtracks EVER!

a recommendation with five exclamation marks!!!!!