Great adaptation of Ulla Hahn's even greater biographic novel about a girl growing up in post WWII (West) Germany amidst working class simpletons! In its "greyish" mood, it brings into mind (the earlier playing and admittedly more gruesome) "Angelas Ashes" (deutsch: Die Asche meiner Mutter), more than, for example, the more playful French "The Four Hundred Blows" (F. Truffaut, 1959). Seeing our hero girl suffer in its plain and harsh world and yearning for some light(ness) and tenderness is very touching, indeed. The zeitgeist is neatly visualized. Overall a great cast, really good acting. The three girls playing the growing up Hildegard all do a very fine job at bringing heart into this story. Ulrich Noethen as her father perfectly personifies proletarian fears. And Corinna Harfouch as a freaky voyeur secretary makes it hard to keep a straight face. Two thumbs up! Too bad, much of its language / (Cologne) dialect quality will get lost in translations. Watch it anyway!
Review of Teufelsbraten
