Goodbye Berlin

Two unlikely heroes (or anti heroes) find each other. The only two boys who are not invited to the hottest (birthday) party of their class. A Young Adult movie based on a book (that I haven't read by the way) that clearly gets the spirit of young boys in one of their most vulnerable times.

You may think that some of the things the boys do are annoying. But boys are not always rational. And if you really think about it, the grown ups are making bigger mistakes. Mistakes they shouldn't do and things to other people they shouldn't be doing. Some things are only suggested (adultery), others are out in the open (alcohol abuse). It's not just light fun, there is also drama. And comedy of course. This works on many levels not just for young people growing up. It is a movie that takes you on a trip ...

Awesome teenage adventure film. Great acting! The comedy is so warmhearted and situational that u end up wanting to like the film more.

This is my first movie that I watched from Fatih Akin. Shame on me! I am deeply impressed his innocent language in telling the story of two boys and the other characters. Tschick (Goodbye Berlin) tells a very ordinary story around two teenagers with an amazing beautiful way. I think that the success of the movie is not trying to tell the story from an adult view, on the contrary, telling like a teenager who talks about what happened during the last summer. The tune between sadness and happiness is very balanced. I like movies that not trying to exploit / (ab)use audience's weak points and Tschick (Goodbye Berlin) is also not trying to do this and set the audience free. For me, the main outcome (if we need a message from every movie that we watched) is "to be yourself" and "to accept life and people around you as well as yourself". There are many upsetting around two boy characters but all are experienced not in a melodramatic way but very truthful way like all we experienced when we were young. Anand Batbileg (Tschick) and Tristan Göbel (Maik) play their role perfectly. As I was watching the movie, I have never thought on their performances as "Oh no it is too exaggerated way" or "they are short for the role". I like this movie. It is honest, cheerful, hopeful and very very sentimental. I like sentimental laughter. (*) Mylast note for the admin. It is not possible to write Fatih Akin's surname in its original way. In Turkish we have small "I" and this field doesn't accept it. His surname is not written with "i" but with small "I". You may need fixing this. Thank you!

I think it'd be safe to say that fourteen year-old "Maik" (Tristan Göbel) is a bit of an under-performer at school. His mind is always elsewhere, not helped by his dipso mother who is frequent away for her "health" and his oblivious father. Hormones are also raging too - one of the class cuties is to celebrate her birthday shortly and he's desperate that she invite him to her party. His priorities take an unexpected turn, though, when "Tschick" (Anand Batbileg) arrives at his school. This lad quickly deals with the school smart-asses and the two form an unlikely friendship that eventually sees the new boy procure a rusty old blue Lada and them heading off on a road trip. What now ensues is all rather standard fayre, but it's still quite good fun as they both learn about themselves and each other whilst encountering a little lively romance on their travels with the equally adrift "Isa" (Mercedes Muller). It's told episodically and that allows the appearance of loads of different characters, briefly, to spice up their adventure - one that doesn't really have a goal. Göbel and Batbileg work well together and the aimlessness of their journey, their scrounging and their petty mischief making reminded me occasionally of an "Herbie" movie! It's not especially original, nor is it likely to stick in your mind for long but it does tug at a few memories of when I was fourteen, had a new best friend, and the world was at my feet.

This is not a review, but my personal opinion on the movie as someone who loved the book. The movie does not manage to reproduce any of the books charm. If you love the book, do yourself a favor and do not watch the movie.

Even if I had not read the book, I'm quite sure that I still wouldn't have like the movie that much. There is really nothing special to it. The story itself is nothing without the style, in which the book is written. The acting also kind of sucks.

Sorry to say, and it is probably not true, but it just does not feel like any of them cared for the book very much.

If you have not read the book, read it, if you have not watched the movie, keep it that way.