"Herren" is a German television film from 2020, from September 2020, so this is two months old now and tonight it was on again. Maybe the fact that this is still really new and fresh is the reason why the title's imdb page is far from complete. The cast list is one example and that is missing a lot. Another example would be that this film is based on a book called "Gents" and the original writer is not credited here. Anyway, the writer of this adapted screenplay is Stefanie Kremser. She is in her 50s now and not really the most prolific filmmaker. But what comes to mind especially here is that basically half her body of work on imdb is films and projects in which Brazil plays a big role. Seems to be her area of expertise. So it is probably no coincidence that she is on board here because the main character originates from Brazil too. I think her screenplay is tolerable at times, but sometimes also not too amazing gently-speaking. I have not read the aforementioned book this is based on, so I cannot comment on whether the flaws existed already in the base material or if they happened during the transition to the screen. Anyway, the director here is Dirk Kummer and this is not the first film I have watched from him. The other one I remember was basically the same level quality-wise, so the outcome here is not a big surprise you can say. He is also far more prolific than his writer here, already if we take a look at those films where he was the man in charge, but especially if we also add his assistant director credits to that. By the way, he first tried his luck as an actor and appeared here and there between the mid-80s and late 90s and when he stopped there, he basically went to directing. However, his relatively empty body of work in the writing department makes it obvious that he is not too often a writer-director, so no surprise either that somebody else was in charge of the screenplay. The cast is nothing spectacular at all. I only knew one name and I consider myself a big German film buff. Most other people will probably not even be aware of lead actor Tyron Ricketts. For some reason, he is only the fifth credit here on imdb and this reason probably is that they went with the alphabetical route. Then again, like I said earlier, this title's imdb page is not exactly taken very well care of at this point. Probably this is gonna change. Anyway, as for Ricketts, I knew he was an actor, but I cannot really mention any other projects from him. The one thing I remember him more for is his music career. I think Mellowbag was his band already 20 years ago or so. No clue if they still exist. Probably not. Props to them though (no pun intended) for what they did back then. Liked their style and some of their stuff. Alright, Ricketts was an okay casting choice here for the lead. He does have some acting skills for sure. I think he was certainly among the film's better components and his music background, especially breakdance background, helped them in the one scene when he shows everybody his capoeira skills. Also he does look Brazilian, so this area worked as well, even if he probably has zero Brazilian blood in his veins. Yeah, that's all I can really say about the cast.
Okay as for the story, it was alright overall. But sadly, there were too many moments where the film did not feel too realistic or authentic and this hurt the movie especially because it was all about realism and how the protagonist's story could happen to almost everybody of us. At least that is what they wanted us to think. I felt that early on honestly this could become a better movie and I could maybe even give it a positive recommendation, but reality got in the way. I will just mention a few examples and inclusions that I did not like and I felt it would have been better without those. The first scene with the racist guy inside with our protagonist was already on the edge because even as a Black man, you do not constantly experience racism here in Berlin, especially not here compared to the countryside perhaps, be it at night or during the day. But the brawl sequence with the severe head injury for a younger character was just too much really and felt pseudo dramatic. At least, it was not for the protagonist as this would have been even more absurd. But it was absurd enough already that, once they get to the hospital, the protagonist's wife is right there because she works as a nurse. Small world in this metropolis. Early on, there were also some flawed moments. I mean it was so predictable that he would become part of the gang and like his job, but then I did not buy how they included his initial disgust and the sound he makes when inside the place with his colleague for the first time and also how he tells his wife that he will not keep doing it. I mean I understand he has to for financial reasons, but he is so appalled initially that it is almost impossible to believe how well he is getting along a couple days later really. Or how the mother (his wife) knew exactly what their son had on his mind career-wise and the father (i.e. the protagonist) had no clue whatsoever. I mean they are showing us that it is indeed a happy marriage, but they really did not talk about that at all and his wife acts as if it's no big deal. By the way, the inclusion of a colleague from a slightly different area of expertise and how he talks about his son doing what the protagonist's son is about to do as well felt a bit of a forced and too random of an inclusion. On a side note, I also do not like the title too much. I understand it is linked to the fact that there are toilets for men and women in Germany, but it is far too general for my liking and also not half as smart or funny as it wants to be. Again from early on, I struggle with believing that he got all these wrong information by his future employer and thought he would work in a completely different area of expertise. I mean they must have told him something, even if he did not sign a contract right away. It is a bit of a pity they included these weaknesses and sometimes took themselves more seriously than they had the right to because otherwise this could have been a much better film. In those more quiet moments, I believe the talent is there and it even delivers subtlety here and there. But for every decent inclusion, there is at least one that is forgettable or even weak. In general, I struggled a bit to believe that the protagonist really ended up where he ended up and did not succeed with his initial career. Maybe the reason is that Ricketts is pretty handsome and charismatic and I would have expected his character to succeed right away with what he wanted. Well, he does in the end at least, so it is not entirely absurd. The film also had a length here and there, but luckily those were gone fairly quickly. On a more positive note, during these minimally under 1.5 hours, I also never felt as if this film could dive into failure territory, so lose another two stars on my rating scale (or one if we are talking about best-of-five, which I actually rate). So overall, I would say that this is a relatively forgettable film as a whole. My suggestion is to skip the watch altogether. The really sad news is that this is still a better film than probably 90% of other small screen releases here in Germany. So make a wise choice what you are going to watch instead. Find the right movie.
Okay as for the story, it was alright overall. But sadly, there were too many moments where the film did not feel too realistic or authentic and this hurt the movie especially because it was all about realism and how the protagonist's story could happen to almost everybody of us. At least that is what they wanted us to think. I felt that early on honestly this could become a better movie and I could maybe even give it a positive recommendation, but reality got in the way. I will just mention a few examples and inclusions that I did not like and I felt it would have been better without those. The first scene with the racist guy inside with our protagonist was already on the edge because even as a Black man, you do not constantly experience racism here in Berlin, especially not here compared to the countryside perhaps, be it at night or during the day. But the brawl sequence with the severe head injury for a younger character was just too much really and felt pseudo dramatic. At least, it was not for the protagonist as this would have been even more absurd. But it was absurd enough already that, once they get to the hospital, the protagonist's wife is right there because she works as a nurse. Small world in this metropolis. Early on, there were also some flawed moments. I mean it was so predictable that he would become part of the gang and like his job, but then I did not buy how they included his initial disgust and the sound he makes when inside the place with his colleague for the first time and also how he tells his wife that he will not keep doing it. I mean I understand he has to for financial reasons, but he is so appalled initially that it is almost impossible to believe how well he is getting along a couple days later really. Or how the mother (his wife) knew exactly what their son had on his mind career-wise and the father (i.e. the protagonist) had no clue whatsoever. I mean they are showing us that it is indeed a happy marriage, but they really did not talk about that at all and his wife acts as if it's no big deal. By the way, the inclusion of a colleague from a slightly different area of expertise and how he talks about his son doing what the protagonist's son is about to do as well felt a bit of a forced and too random of an inclusion. On a side note, I also do not like the title too much. I understand it is linked to the fact that there are toilets for men and women in Germany, but it is far too general for my liking and also not half as smart or funny as it wants to be. Again from early on, I struggle with believing that he got all these wrong information by his future employer and thought he would work in a completely different area of expertise. I mean they must have told him something, even if he did not sign a contract right away. It is a bit of a pity they included these weaknesses and sometimes took themselves more seriously than they had the right to because otherwise this could have been a much better film. In those more quiet moments, I believe the talent is there and it even delivers subtlety here and there. But for every decent inclusion, there is at least one that is forgettable or even weak. In general, I struggled a bit to believe that the protagonist really ended up where he ended up and did not succeed with his initial career. Maybe the reason is that Ricketts is pretty handsome and charismatic and I would have expected his character to succeed right away with what he wanted. Well, he does in the end at least, so it is not entirely absurd. The film also had a length here and there, but luckily those were gone fairly quickly. On a more positive note, during these minimally under 1.5 hours, I also never felt as if this film could dive into failure territory, so lose another two stars on my rating scale (or one if we are talking about best-of-five, which I actually rate). So overall, I would say that this is a relatively forgettable film as a whole. My suggestion is to skip the watch altogether. The really sad news is that this is still a better film than probably 90% of other small screen releases here in Germany. So make a wise choice what you are going to watch instead. Find the right movie.