En otra Liga

this is a very good piece of work I have watched in a long, long time. perhaps because I am a girl, who understands the (underrated, understated) love between a daughter and a father (it is always mother and son, or angsty mother and daughter relationships portrayed in the media). perhaps because I have played in all-women's team sports before, and understand the intensity and emotions behind matches. or maybe because I know the German language. I don't know what combination it was, but 'die andere liga' is one of the most charming, sweet, touching, brave, sensitive film I have seen.

hayat is a 20 year old girl (beautifully played by karoline herfurth) who loves football. breast cancer very suddenly robs her of a breast - and more. intensely loved by her father (again, beautifully played by thierry van werveke), she is not allowed to play football again. this film traces her struggles after the one thing which robbed hayat's strength, her pride, and her one breast. and it also reduced her to a child, when it comes to boys and love. meeting toni (ken duken charms the birds off the tree in this role) unwittingly begins her little journey..

one of the superb thing about this film is that the director did not pander to cheesy feel-good endings and Hollywood plots. the dialogue was fantastically funny (I did not expect this).

it truly did touch me more than I thought it would. a truly recommended great film. go watch it.