"Starfighter - Sie wollten den Himmel erobern" is a German movie from 2015, so still relatively fresh. It was directed by Miguel Alexandre and the script comes from a trio of writers that I personally don't think I know about. Anyway, if you see that this is an RTL production and that the title is a bit on the embarrassing side with the addition after the - I did not really have any expectations for this one. Admittedly, the working title "Witwenmacher" would have been even worse I guess. But I was positively surprised. There are many familiar faces in here and experienced actors like Lau, Sittler, Kalenberg, Dwyer and Bock, who isn't even listed here on IMDb. And they are also among the main reasons why this film is working out well eventually. The script also helps matters of course and this is very crucial as the film does not have too many lengths for a movie that crosses the 2-hour mark.
It all takes place a couple decades after World War II and the focus is on Germany establishing an air force again. Sadly, the planes they are buying are completely unsuitable for the German climate and the consequence is that many pilots die in crashes. Those responsible for these tragedies however fear that others may find out about how they messed up and they do their best to keep it under the radar and blame the deceased pilots for human error instead of standing up to the girlfriends and wives of the victims. In the first half, this is a bit of a problem as I personally did not feel very satisfied at times. The female actors and characters all seemed a bit interchangeable and I honestly also wasn't too fond of Picco von Groote in the main role. I really would have loved to see Kalenberg play the part, but I have been quite a fan of hers for a long time, so it's all subjective. Can't deny the major crush I have on her.
Anyway, in the second half it all makes sense because the focus switches to the widows and wives of the pilots as they (especially one of them) fight for justice. Still early on, it was a bit of a problem as it was basically one pilot death after the other and the living pilots complaining about the danger and how they just don't do enough. But it is still far from a bad film. It just needs a little while to really get going and the longer it goes, the better it becomes. Maybe there was not one standout performance or a script that has you glued to the screen, but looking at the background of the production, I am certainly quite surprised. Not only does the film deal adequately with an important subject in German history that has not really been elaborated on in the movies, but it is at the very same time something that we can already call a period piece now today as it is from roughly half a century ago. This one is evidence that even if most quality films from the small screen in Germany come from ARD and ZDF, there is sometimes also one from RTL. "Duell der Brüder" is another recent example and maybe these films are the way for RTL out of the reality television crisis. As for this one here, I give it a thumbs-up and I certainly think you should check it out.
It all takes place a couple decades after World War II and the focus is on Germany establishing an air force again. Sadly, the planes they are buying are completely unsuitable for the German climate and the consequence is that many pilots die in crashes. Those responsible for these tragedies however fear that others may find out about how they messed up and they do their best to keep it under the radar and blame the deceased pilots for human error instead of standing up to the girlfriends and wives of the victims. In the first half, this is a bit of a problem as I personally did not feel very satisfied at times. The female actors and characters all seemed a bit interchangeable and I honestly also wasn't too fond of Picco von Groote in the main role. I really would have loved to see Kalenberg play the part, but I have been quite a fan of hers for a long time, so it's all subjective. Can't deny the major crush I have on her.
Anyway, in the second half it all makes sense because the focus switches to the widows and wives of the pilots as they (especially one of them) fight for justice. Still early on, it was a bit of a problem as it was basically one pilot death after the other and the living pilots complaining about the danger and how they just don't do enough. But it is still far from a bad film. It just needs a little while to really get going and the longer it goes, the better it becomes. Maybe there was not one standout performance or a script that has you glued to the screen, but looking at the background of the production, I am certainly quite surprised. Not only does the film deal adequately with an important subject in German history that has not really been elaborated on in the movies, but it is at the very same time something that we can already call a period piece now today as it is from roughly half a century ago. This one is evidence that even if most quality films from the small screen in Germany come from ARD and ZDF, there is sometimes also one from RTL. "Duell der Brüder" is another recent example and maybe these films are the way for RTL out of the reality television crisis. As for this one here, I give it a thumbs-up and I certainly think you should check it out.
