Germany 2015
Opening October 15
Directed by: Lars Kraume
Writing credits: Lars Kraume
Principle actors: Günther Maria Halmer, Hannelore Elsner, Michaela May, Lars Eidinger, Jördis Triebel, Barnaby Metschurat, Marc Hosemann, Nele Mueller-Stöfen, Daniel Krauss
Anne wishes to celebrate her husband Hannes’ 70th birthday with style, which means inviting the “family.” Anne is the second wife of Hannes; they have no mutual relatives, so that she is forced to invite the three sons from his first marriage: Max, Frederik, and Gregor, which she does willingly. She even goes so far as to invite the first wife, their mother Renate. The camera swings around to them at the dining room table, in the garden, etc., where they are discussing, remembering, arguing, smoking, and drinking – mostly without actually listening to each other. This film could almost be a German version of Ricki and the Flash, except that there is no wonderful rock music and the “older” famous actress is not Meryl Streep, but Hannelore Elsner. Other similarities are: the second wife has an exaggerated urge to make everyone happy, one of the sons is gay, one child has a “problem” (not a divorce, but also serious), one person plays the piano, another needs a loan, and so on. Director Kraume’s film will appeal to German-speakers who appreciate the good German actors, who all manage to say everything in the designated 88 minutes. ()