A Heavy Heart (2015) User Reviews

Poignant and Moving

[Blue-Grotto · 7/10 · 8 November 2015]

Covered in tattoos, nicknamed "the Panzer" (the German word for tank), famous as a former East German boxing champion, and earning income based solely upon his muscles and bulk, Herbert is not someone you want to mess with. With few friends beyond the young boxer he is mentoring, a tattoo artist and Olga his angelfish, the Panzer lives a solitary and isolated life in apparent bachelor bliss. Even the diagnosis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, Lou Gehrig's disease) hardly slows Herbert down. He treats ALS as just another physical adversary.

As Herbert drifts into total paralysis and it becomes clear who the victor in "Panzer versus ALS" is going to be, Herbert tries to make amends with the daughter he abandoned many years ago. This battle, like that with ALS, can't be won with his fists and Herbert finds himself in unfamiliar and unfathomable territory in more ways than one. While slow-paced and dark, the film is poignant and moving as a punch to the gut. Seen at the Toronto International Film Festival 2015.

An Emotional Mine Shaft

[Sockfilms · 7/10 · 18 February 2020]

This film is not an emotional roller coaster. Roller coasters take you up and down, and in loops.A roller coaster can produce a feeling of joy and excitement. This film can more symbolically be represented by a mine shaft. A mine shaft just keeps going down, and the feeling is more akin to a journey into darkness. Also, like a mine shaft, this film can feel like a lot of work. Frankly, I felt emotionally exhausted by the end of it.

Look, I'm not saying this is a bad movie; please don't misunderstand me, but it's like someone watched "The Wrestler", and thought "Wow that was good, if only it was more depressing!"

"A Heavy Heart" AKA "Herbert" AKA "The Cinematic Plunge Into One Man's Hell On Earth" isn't afraid of its subject matter (degenerative brain disease); it instead grabs you by the back of your skull and pushes your face against it saying "See, see here? This is the ugly truth. You don't like it? Well deal with it because this is just a taste of what many people have to live with."

As stated before this film shares a lot of similarities with "The Wrestler". It is a character-piece driven by an amazing performance by Peter Kurth who plays a has-been boxer.

Like "The Wrestler" this is a story about a man trying to continue his existence while grappling with his mortality.

Also, just like in the wrestler, once our protagonist learns he is dying he tries to repair the broken relationship between him and his daughter.

That's about as deep into things as I can get into the story without wandering into spoiler territory, but I would like to reiterate how amazing Peter Kurth is in this film. The man dug deep and delivered a performance I won't soon forget.

So the final verdict? I wanna give this film a higher score, but I just can't honestly do that. The last 30 minutes of the movie I found myself just waiting for it to be over already.

The performances were great, and I respect the director's commitment to style, but finishing "A Heavy Heart" began to feel like a chore towards the end.

Very strong lead performance, solid otherwise

[Horst_In_Translation · 6/10 · 10 June 2016]

"Herbert" is a German movie that had its world premiere last year and hit cinemas recently here in Germany. It runs for 110 minutes and is the story of a man in the last year of his life. we witness how things get worse and worse when he id diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease. Herbert was a really successful boxer in East Germany decades ago and now he lives his life training boxing prospects and collecting money for dubious businessmen and some violence is included in this business as well. The writer and director is Thomas Stuber and it is his second (not first as some say) full feature film. Other than that he has worked mostly on short films and television now. And "Herbert" is also by far his biggest success now. It finished second at the German Film Awards behind the big winner of the night "Der Staat gegen Fritz Bauer" and lead actor Peter Kurth won his category surprisingly over Burghart Klaußner. And while I like Klaußner a lot too, I must say that Kurth is equally deserving. He is the driving force in here that makes it all work and I was genuinely interested in what would happen next to his character. The film is not much shorter than two hours and it never dragged. I believe it was a bit generic at times and there were situations where it could have been better in terms of making a real lasting statement on the illness. I also felt that the female love interest to Herbert added almost nothing to the movie. The story about his daughter and granddaughter was more interesting, even if that one felt also slightly generic at times. But overall, the good outweighs the bad thanks to Kurth mostly. This is one of the better German films of the year and I recommend checking it out.

Strong, powerful movie.

[RatedVforVinny · 7/10 · 19 November 2018]

A very moving and touching drama from Germany. Concerns a hard Boxing trainer and debt collector, that suddenly falls down to an aggressive degenerate disease (ALS). This tragic situation forces him to examine every aspect of his life and forge bonds with estranged loved ones. I loved the movie, which skilfully avoids sentimentality but was disturbed by the magnitude and overwhelming weight of his plight.

Gone soft

[kosmasp · 8/10 · 4 April 2019]

Do you sometimes wonder what individuals would risk their own body to just collect money for someone else? Maybe that's the only thing they know how to do. The only thing they know they are good at. But in this case, the character who is front and center stage has to reflect on what he has been doing. And the things he missed on doing.

When a life event that is rather big hits him, things fall apart. Then again, maybe this is finally a way for him to see things clearer. Is it too late though? Can he find inner peace? Or outer peace for that matter? It is not so much about where he is heading (inevitable) but the journey there. And how he handles himself being robbed of the one thing he thought made him stand apart ...

German Mickey Rourke who would be lost in Ken Loach.

[searchanddestroy-1 · 9/10 · 25 May 2021]

I thought of HOMEBOY all thru this film, the tale of an aging boxer, his downfall, his struggle to survive, keep his pride and.dignity. It is painful, poignant, disturbing but so great. Yes, Mickey rourke would have been great in such a film, but the German actor is excellent, Oscar winner worth performance. This in the line of FAT CITY or REQUIEM FOR A HEAVY WEIGHT. There is also a Ken Loach touch. But this poor guy is lucky enough to have a gorgeous girl friend, that compensates much, doesn't it? The only bright touch in this gloomy drama.

A great movie!

[antonio_nimertis · 8/10 · 20 March 2019]

This is an excellent movie. Especially Peter Kurth's acting is simply sensational! Decent, i believe, the performances of the others. But, what we have here is a complete universe. And the protagonist is that universe. Without reaching the limits of melodrama, Kurth Peter manages to perform up to the ultimate detail all stages of his terrifying paralysis. This is not easy and we have not seen it many times with such success. The Director adequately unfolds the escalating intensity and the drama and you simply cannot remain unaffected. A movie uneasy but worth to watch!

A very heavy drama, a film beautiful...

[RosanaBotafogo · 8/10 · 6 February 2022]

A very heavy drama, due to the reconstitution of the degradation, however, I only managed to feel empathy towards the end of the film, when the disease almost completely withered him, the final words, recording by Herbert for daughter and granddaughter hurts in the soul, a film beautiful and very representative, especially about the choices we make in our lives, and when we neglect our most precious asset, the family...