Lieber Kurt

The topic of losing a child is a genuinely sad and sensitive subject. I can imagine that some people involved in this movie may have felt personally invested in telling such a story. However, the acting in this film is an insult and stands in stark contrast to the gravity of the topic. Instead of honoring the emotional weight, the performances undermine it, making the portrayal feel careless and even disrespectful.

I'm honestly stunned. I always assumed the people in this film were actual actors, but what I witnessed here was a complete refusal to even attempt proper acting. The level of amateurism on display is truly astonishing-everyone seems to be "acting" in the loosest sense of the word. Til Schweiger, in particular, who has never exactly been known for his talent, delivers what might be his worst performance since Honey in the Head. It's as if there was some secret bet going on to see who could be the best anti-actor.

The film lurches from one awkward scene to the next, each performance more wooden and unconvincing than the last. Dialogue feels forced, emotional moments fall flat, and there's a pervasive sense that nobody involved is taking the project seriously. It's almost impressive how consistently the cast manages to avoid anything resembling genuine emotion or charisma.

And just when you think the ordeal is finally over, the filmmakers decide to add a "funny" after-credits scene. What do we get? A painfully awkward encounter between Kurt and his girlfriend, which could easily serve as the textbook example in a "Masterclass in Cringe."

No pun intended - actually it is a German song (Hier kommt Kurt), so you may not even know about that. Also it is just a joke/pun, which I like to use and has nothing to do with the movie overall. That being said ... it may be a fitting example of the movie. Maybe you like the joke maybe you don't ... but it is not appropriate ... well not entirely.

And that is how the movie feels a lot of time. Which is sad to a degree - especially because there is quite the good story hidden here. Apparently it is based on a book too .... I assume the book is better than this ... which is quite easy, especially when Schweiger has some ill conceived scenes ... he does not have the acting range to really portray certain emotions ... at least as a viewer I don't feel it.

Don't get it twisted though and even though there seem to be some allegations at the moment, he still is a powerhouse when it comes to German film making .. there seems no way to go around him ... well unless you know Schweighöfer I assume.

It would have been a better drama if it were made by someone else.

Tragic story with some halfway decent scenes, the turning point for the main actor at the end was nicely done, but other than that, the movie felt repetitive. We saw many scenes where the father was going through his loss and at some point it just felt like nothing was happening anymore. I would have loved to see the 2 parents reconcile as they do in the book. Plus filling this movie with boring and over used jokes did not help the movie at all. Of course some were funny, but not many. One thing that confused me though, that was never touched on, was the sons creepy biting his lips, when watching the movie, the guy one row in front of me asked his girlfriend whether the boy was retarded, because he kept making this one same face. Which I only after the movie found out is just how the kid likes to look, I cant believe they left that in, it always made me feel sad, when I saw him do that, because I thought the child was handicapped, but finding out later that he doesn't, just made me feel bad about them having him do that in the movie in every scene he is in, that's almost like clowining handicapped people.

The topic of losing a child is a genuinely sad and sensitive subject. I can imagine that some people involved in this movie may have felt personally invested in telling such a story. However, the acting in this film is an insult and stands in stark contrast to the gravity of the topic. Instead of honoring the emotional weight, the performances undermine it, making the portrayal feel careless and even disrespectful.

I'm honestly stunned. I always assumed the people in this film were actual actors, but what I witnessed here was a complete refusal to even attempt proper acting. The level of amateurism on display is truly astonishing-everyone seems to be "acting" in the loosest sense of the word. Til Schweiger, in particular, who has never exactly been known for his talent, delivers what might be his worst performance since Honey in the Head. It's as if there was some secret bet going on to see who could be the best anti-actor.

The film lurches from one awkward scene to the next, each performance more wooden and unconvincing than the last. Dialogue feels forced, emotional moments fall flat, and there's a pervasive sense that nobody involved is taking the project seriously. It's almost impressive how consistently the cast manages to avoid anything resembling genuine emotion or charisma.

And just when you think the ordeal is finally over, the filmmakers decide to add a "funny" after-credits scene. What do we get? A painfully awkward encounter between Kurt and his girlfriend, which could easily serve as the textbook example in a "Masterclass in Cringe."

It's a good adaptation of a very successful book. Sadly there were some scenes that just seemed forced. For example the entire bar scene, it was so badly scripted and made no sense. The movie focuses completely on the fathers loss, which is sad, because one of the best actresses in the movie is the woman who plays the mother of the child, and her loss and struggle is only touched on. The climax is so well made and acted out, and that's the main reason I give it 5 stars. That scene won me over, but overall, the 2 main actors go through the same emotions and conflict over and over again, which is understandable in such a situation, but other movies were able to make the experience more captivating.