"Der Junge muss an die frische Luft" is the movie adaption of the autobiography of German tv-entertainer Hape Kerkeling. It tells mainly his childhood years and the story of how he grew up in rather difficult conditions.
I expected very little from a German biographical film about a tv personality, even though I value Hape Kerkeling. However, I was very pleasantly surprised about the seriosity of this film and the tough questions it raises. Yes, the film often is funny and makes you laugh but it's always a rather bitter laugh because it is never fully innocent. The film sheds a lot of light on how a small boy from a Western German town could grow up to become a nation-wide star and the answer is a sad one. You see that it is a German production, you won't mistake it for a Hollywood film but the emotions are nonetheless real and especially the child actors are tremendous.
All in all I would even recommend this movie to people who don't know who Kerkeling is. It is a movie about the traumas we cause our children much more than it is an autobiography only and raises all the right questions.
I expected very little from a German biographical film about a tv personality, even though I value Hape Kerkeling. However, I was very pleasantly surprised about the seriosity of this film and the tough questions it raises. Yes, the film often is funny and makes you laugh but it's always a rather bitter laugh because it is never fully innocent. The film sheds a lot of light on how a small boy from a Western German town could grow up to become a nation-wide star and the answer is a sad one. You see that it is a German production, you won't mistake it for a Hollywood film but the emotions are nonetheless real and especially the child actors are tremendous.
All in all I would even recommend this movie to people who don't know who Kerkeling is. It is a movie about the traumas we cause our children much more than it is an autobiography only and raises all the right questions.