Lara

The writing, and the central performance by Corinna Harfouch combine to make this film work. The writing has the qualities of an excellent short story; it builds through character and opens up the themes to the piece by episodes which are proportionate and cohere.

Carrying the film, Harfouch, delivers a nuanced and strong performance in which she seems to have multiple ways to convey pain and regret, disappointment and disillusion. In some key scenes she pivots to pride, and even arrogance, all of which convey the turmoil in the character.

The story is familiar enough and done in a style that is not hackneyed, using other elements, in locations and minor characters, to present the loneliness and failure of Harfouch's character.

An engaging film that is worth seeing again.

Excellent cinematography. Very well played by the main actress. A very touching portrait of a broken woman's broken relationship with her son, her life, herself. Very well written to fit a lifetime's key conflict into one single day, one single evening, one single concert.

A movie about art and music, a movie about education, a movie about believing in yourself and the strength it needs to follow your dreams. Incredible acting, most intense emotions brought to the screen, a script that's both surprising and most of all thought provoking and superb direction, scene after scene really goes under your skin. A movie that will stay with you, very much unlike other movies that are already forgotten when you have left the cinema...

A reflection on maturity and the balances it inevitably provokes, the choices, good or bad, that determine the unfolding of a life, the people who, for better or worse, influence them, the regrets, the disappointments and the projections of unfulfilled dreams in others, particularly in children.

The main message is positive, that only by taking risks can goals be achieved. The general tone, however, is dark, marked by the compunction of someone who proved incapable of taking the risk at the right moment and dragged revolt into her life and that of everyone around.

However, it is precisely this austerity and this degree of demand, which make her life so unbearable, that also built an image of respect and admiration in others, capable of instilling excellence and perfectionism around her.

Life is made of contradictions. The destruction of the dreams of some allows the construction and realization of the dreams of others.

It makes sense that the same person responsible for Oh Boy is responsible for this. Not because the movies are the same or similar in that sense, but that they are both good. And this follow up is quite something - this time around it is a woman who is front and center ... and boy is she flawed ... no pun intended.

So many really good performances - and I don't say that lightly when it comes to German movies. While I generally am "known" for being too nice when it comes to rating movies (in general, I can be harsh too), I am quite critical of German efforts and mostly am not convinced when it comes to performances in the German language ... that makes me even more excited when it comes to movie like this one here.

To say that Lara is a flawed human being ... a broken one and one that commits and makes many mistakes would be quite the understatement. But that is also what makes her and the movie so interesting ... very well done indeed ...