1/2
Germany 2017
Opening May 25, 2017
Directed by: Isabell Suba
Writing credits: Kathrin Milhahn, Antonia Rothe-Liermann
Principal actors: Laila Meinecke, Rosa Meinecke, Katharina Thalbach, Maria Schrader, Henry Hübchen
Hanni and Nanni get sent off to a countryside boarding school when their parents face marital problems. The pre-teen twins don’t want to leave their life in Berlin. So at first, both go to great lengths to get expelled from Lindenhof. But then Nanni befriends a few classmates who like to ride horses, as she does, and takes a liking to a troubled yet charming horse on school grounds. Hanni continues to resist her new environs and finds her sister drifting away. Then she stumbles upon a grumpy old man living in the nearby woods and befriends him – not knowing that he could save Lindenhof from closure. The storyline turns to whether Hanni and Nanni can save their new school in this latest film production based on the bestselling Edith Wharton book series St. Clare’s. The film’s plot is not as fun as the 2010 version by Christine Hartmann. And it tries too hard to match the equine appeal of the recent Bibi & Tina film series by Detlev Buck. ( )