coyets

Expecting a relatively quiet film with typical Swedish landscape backgrounds, I was definitely not disappointed. It was not a brilliant plot, in fact I thought the main plot was rather lacking in fantasy and was filmed in such a way that anyone could follow. However, this was more than made up for by the developments away from the central story. In particular, the young residents' night time party added some pace, a welcome relief from the steadiness of most of the film, and toned down the hanseatic reservation of the Hamburg family. One cannot expect top-class acting from such a production, but all the actors, both young and old, made their characters as credible as the script would allow. At times I could feel the discomfort of various characters as they were less talkative than they perhaps wanted to be.

The backdrop of the film was really good to look at. In Sweden there were plenty of trees and a wonderful lake, and in Hamburg there were some modern office and rapid transit developments near the port and the central station.

Whereas I do not think that anyone will regard this as their favourite film, it was entertaining enough to be very enjoyable.

The film deals with the interactions between all the main characters, and the tension arises from the interplay of their wants and needs rather than from any action packed development of the story, although even this is not entirely lacking. I decided to watch it because I had been impressed by Veronica Ferres's performances in other films and thought her reputation well merited. This film reinforced and even strengthened my opinion. The story, although suggesting that the film might deal with the social problems arising from the loss of her mother by a young teenaged girl and the necessity of finding new parents or guardians, actually developed to retain a tension between the various characters involved which stayed intense whilst varying in detail. Fritz Karl, the leading actor, and Mathilde Bundschuh, playing Aimée, the title role, also contributed well to the constant friction between the characters, as did the supporting cast, particularly Monika Baumgartner who played Aimée's grandmother.

The interest was heightened by interesting details linking parts of the plot which were otherwise less related to each other, although such details were somewhat too blatant at times. Similarly, the music used to underline the plot was pleasurable but at times too intrusive.

Having stated some of the better features, I felt that the ending was rather weak and unimaginative, although this may well be a matter of taste.

Taken as a whole, the film was well acted, full of tension in a somewhat unusual way, and entertaining.

A story about post-World-War-II German soldiers who are not all morally and ethically perfect is unusual, although I expect this will change in the coming years.

The story of the investigation by Lieutenant Nicole Ziegler, played by Maria Simon, into the death of a soldier told by this film is dramatic and very suitable for filming. Although the film itself fell short of brilliance, it stayed true to the essence of the story, built up to a credible and fitting end, and found time to make a visual impact with both the natural beauty of Africa and the terrible effects of war.

The characters and their interactions with one another were all very credible, which is extremely important in the telling of a tale in an environment of which most people seeing the film, including myself, have no first hand experience. The quest for truth with some soldiers preferring the maintenance of morale to truthfulness is no longer a novelty for films in general, but it is good to see that a German team can also handle a film with this underlying theme.

The acting was of sufficiently high standard to convey the fear and mistrust prevalent in most of the film, and to provide those changes in mood so necessary in such an environment. The sequences portraying the beauty of nature and the poverty of village life in Africa, although short compared to many other films with an African setting, were sufficient as a setting for the plot, and may well have caused the film to be too long had they been extended.

However, on a couple of occasions I felt that the screenplay, whilst generally of a high standard, was somewhat contrived.

As a non-native speaker of German, I had difficulties understanding the dialogue at the beginning in the original German language version, but this improved as the film continued, perhaps because I was getting used to the accents.

The film is certainly well worth watching, and I look forward to further offerings from the director, Peter Keglevic, the leading actress, Maria Simon, and supporting actress Florence Kasumba.