The BZ film tips from “When will it finally be like it never was” to “Where is Anne Frank”

By Markus Tschiedert

At the same time, James Cameron’s science fiction epic can boast of being the most successful cinema film of all time in Germany.

Let’s see where this week’s reboots will end up. From tragic comedy (“When will it finally be like it never was”) to thriller (“Missing”) to romance (“What’s Love Got to Do With It?”), there’s a lot to be found.

When will it finally be like it never was” – A completely normal family

THE STORY: When his father Richard (Devid Striesow) becomes head of a youth psychiatric clinic, little Joachim (Camille Loup Moltzen) and his two brothers grow up naturally among the patients. It is often difficult for his mother Iris (Laura Tonke). This eventually leads to conflict.

THE STARS: Laura Tonke is currently also successful in the cinema comedy “Caveman”. Devid Striesow has been a star of German film since his role as Hape Kerkeling in the book adaptation “I’m Gone”.

THE DIRECTOR: Sonja Heiss was first assistant director (“The forest for the trees”). Her directorial debut (“Hotel Very Welcome”) followed in 2007, followed by the Arthaus success “Hedi Schneider is stuck” in 2015.

BG RATING: Sonja Heiss starts everyday life in the clinic in an endearingly whimsical manner, but never loses sight of the family history. In doing so, it comes sympathetically close to the novel by Joachim Meyerhoff, who used it to come to terms with his own childhood (116 min., accessible from the age of 12).

“Missing” – Search for the missing mother

THE STORY: Junes (Storm Reid) is desperate. Because since her mother Grace (Nia Long) went on vacation, there has been no trace of her. The authorities are no help. So the daughter uses all the possibilities on the computer to get more information. But the deeper her research goes, the more disturbing the picture that emerges about the mother becomes

THE STARS: At the age of ten, Storm Reid was already filming with Brad Pitt (“12 Years A Slave”) in 2003. She was last seen in the comic book adaptation “Suicide Squad”. Bis Long rose to prominence in the ’90s with Boyz n the Hood and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

THE DIRECTORS: Will Merrick and Nicholas D. Johnson make their feature film debut with Missing. But even with the predecessor “Searching”, in which a father was looking for his daughter on the screen, they were responsible for the camera and editing.

BG RATING: “Missing” is like “Searching” a so-called ‘screen life’ film, ie the action takes place almost exclusively on the computer screen. Then pages pop up, smartphone recordings are played and messages come in. If you have to work like that all day anyway, you won’t have much fun experiencing it again in the cinema in the evening. And it’s not really exciting either (111 min., free from the age of 12).

“What’s Love Got to Do With It?” – The Arranged Marriage

THE STORY: Zoe (Lily James) and her Kaz (Shazad Latif) are neighbors. While trying to find a partner via the dating app, which her mother (Emma Thompson) in particular finds problematic, he is about to be married off to a stranger in Pakistan. That’s what family tradition demands. Zoe is fascinated by it and wants to accompany him to make a documentary about it.

THE STARS: Lily James became famous through the TV series “Downton Abbey”. She then played the character of Cinderella in Disney’s live-action adaptation and starred in Baby Driver and Yesterday. Emma Thompson began her career with her ex-husband Kenneth Branagh (“Henry V”) in Shakespeare films. Today she is the grand dame of British cinema, most recently in “Leo Lessons”.

THE DIRECTOR: Shekhar Kapur celebrated his first success as a director in 1987 with “Mr. India”. After that, the Indian was entrusted with major historical projects such as “Elizabeth” with Cate Blanchett and “The Four Feathers” with Heath Ledger.

BG RATING: In the tradition of British ethno comedies like “East is East” and “Kick it like Beckham”, it’s also about balancing out cultural differences so that everyone feels comfortable in the end. This is at least very entertaining and puts you in a good mood. Sometimes that’s all it takes (109 min., free from the age of 6).

Cinema for kids: “Where is Anne Frank”

THE STORY: In 1942, the Jewish Frank family had to hide from the Nazis in Amsterdam. Daughter Anne begins to keep a diary and invents the imaginary friend Kitty, to whom she confides everything. 75 years later, Kitty actually comes to life in today’s Amsterdam and goes in search of Anne Frank.

THE STARS: In the English original, Anne Frank is voiced by Emily Carey. The 19-year-old Brit is known for her roles in Wonder Woman and House of Dragon. Anni C. Salander is the German voice. The 32-year-old is also an actress and has appeared in “Wilsberg” and “Lindenstrasse”.

THE DIRECTOR: Ari Folman comes from Haifa, Israel and caused a sensation back in 2008 with his animated documentary “Waltz with Bashir” about the first Lebanon war.

BG RATING: Based on the graphic novel of the same name by Lena Guberman, Ari Folman manages to deal with the horrors of the Nazis in an impressive way, both artistically and narratively. However, always in such a way that it remains consumable for children of primary school age. An important film, and that goes for all ages (104 mins, free from 6+).