By Markus Tschiedert
As expected, Marvel is back on top. “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” attracted almost 440,000 viewers to German cinemas. The German productions “Rheingold” and “Der Nachname” took second and third place.
It could be a head-to-head race next week, because this week Karoline Herfurth will also be joining her with her new comedy “Einfach mal was Schönes”, and her last directorial film “Wonderful” already delighted an audience of millions at the beginning of 2022. The thriller “The Menu” and the opera film “The Magic Flute” will probably have a harder time getting into the top 3 of the German cinema charts.
“Just something nice” – great love versus having children
THE STORY: Karla (Karoline Herfurth) is approaching 40 and still doesn’t have a suitable husband. But she wants a child. The solution: artificial insemination. It’s not just her family that’s upset. Because when she falls in love with Ole (Aaron Altaras), who is ten years her junior, she doesn’t want to put her heart’s desire under pressure.
THE DIRECTOR: After last winter’s “Wonderful” comes “Simply something beautiful” – again with Karoline Herfurth as director and leading actress. It is the fourth directorial work by the Berliner, who previously directed “SMS für Dich” and “Sweethearts”.
THE STARS: Nora Tschirner (“Keinohrhasen”) is also a good friend of Karoline Herfurth in her private life and plays her big sister here. The little sister is played by Milena Tscharnke (“Raus”). Herbert Knaup (“The Winners”) and Ulrike Kriener (“Men”) are part of the cast as divorced parents.
BG RATING: From all the family complications, Herfurth creates comical moments without neglecting the emotional depth. She strikes a wonderful balance between humor and tragedy. So if you want to treat yourself to something nice, the cinema is the right place for you (116 min., free from the age of 12).
Anya Taylor-Joy and Ralph Fiennes in a scene from The Menu Photo: Eric Zachanowich/Searchlight Pictures via AP
“The Menu” – A murderous dinner
THE STORY: Social network gurus Margot (Anya-Taylor Joy) and Tyler (Nicholas Hoult) search the world for the most exclusive restaurants. Now she finds herself on a deserted island, where the eccentric chef Slowik (Ralph Fiennes) puts his guests on torture – literally, because his menu has deadly consequences.
THE STARS: Ralph Fiennes already has a number of villains like Lord Voldemort from “Harry Potter”. As secret service chief M from the last three Bond films, he has earned another permanent role. Anya-Taylor Joy is hip in Hollywood like no other. In 2022 she was already in “The Northman” and “Amsterdam”. Nicholas Hoult rose to fame when he was 13 with About a Boy.
THE DIRECTOR: Mark Mylod has made a name for himself primarily as a series director. He shot episodes of “Game of Thrones”, “Minority Report” and “Incredible Stories”.
BG RATING: The strongest character here is clearly that of Ralph Fiennes. He claps his hands several times and immediately gets everyone’s attention. From this develops a perfidious game between food, art and human abysses. An exciting and evil chamber play 108 minutes, free from the age of 16).
“The Magic Flute” – fairy tales like Mozart’s
THE STORY: Like his father, Tim (Jack Wolfe) is supposed to be trained as a singer at the Mozart Music School and falls under the wing of the strict rector Dr. Longbow (F. Murray Abraham). In the library, Tim soon finds a secret portal into the world of Mozart’s “The Magic Flute”. Here, as Prince Tamino, he has to free a girl.
THE STARS: F. Murray Abraham had already dealt with Mozart in 1984 in “Amadeus”. Murray received an Oscar for his role as antagonist Salieri. After series like “The Witcher” or “Father Brown”, Jack Wolfe was in front of the camera for the first time in a leading role.
THE DIRECTOR: With “The Magic Flute”, Florian Sigl shot his very first film, which was produced by his mentor Roland Emmerich (“Independence Day”).
BG RATING: This film is an attempt to bring Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s opera closer to a young audience. This succeeds with a modern coming-of-age story coupled with an enchanting parallel world, which of course only works with a decent array of special effects (124 min., free from age 6).
Jack Wolfe as Tamino and Niamh McCormack as Sophie in a scene from the film The Magic Flute Photo: dpa
The special film: “The Golden Years”
THE STORY: Retire together! But Alice (Esther Gemsch) and Peter (Stefan Kurt) soon get into arguments. A cruise should bring harmony back. But puff cake. The two grow even further apart on board, until even their marriage is in jeopardy.
THE STARS: Stefan Kurt received the Grimme Prize for his roles in “The Shadow Man” and “Towards the End of the Night”. Children know the Swiss from the “Petterson & Findus” films. In 1983 Ester Gemsch was part of the ensemble of the music film “The Heartbreakers”.
THE DIRECTOR: Barbara Kulcsar recently shot two “Tatort” episodes. Before that, the Swiss was involved in series such as “The Undertaker” and “Deadly Secrets”.
BG RATING: Amusing pensioner comedy that takes a close look and gives its actors a lot of freedom to develop their characters. Narratively and stylistically, however, the film does not get beyond the charm of a TV film on the 8:15 p.m. track (91 min., free from 12).
Cinema for kids: “A Christmas for Teddy”
THE STORY: Eight-year-old Mariann (Marte Klerk-Nilssen) saw a teddy bear at the Christmas market that she longed for. But the little bear would rather be raffled off to a millionaire and manipulates the wheel of fortune. Its new owner may have money but no heart. Mariann wants to save the teddy.
THE STARS: Marre Klerk-Nilssen stood by a film camera for the first time. In the German version, the teddy is spoken by the presenter Ben Weber, who once made a name for himself with children’s television programs such as “Disney Club” and “Pumuckl TV”.
THE DIRECTOR: Already with her first directorial film “Elise and the forgotten Christmas” (2019), Andrea Eckerbom provided the right mood for the Advent season.
BG RATING: A Christmas film from Norway based on old traditions. Instead of Lego or Barbie, a child wishes for a teddy – that’s unusual these days. Not consumption, but love, peace, harmony are propagated – and in a way that can be understood by little viewers (78 min., free from 0).