"Das beste Jahr meines Lebens", which means "The best year of my life", is a German television film from 2005, so it has its 15th anniversary this year. The director is Olaf Kreinsen and the writer is Geogr Heinzen. Kreinsen turns 60 in less than a month and Heinzen is even slightly older, so these two are fairly experienced filmmakers and also had many many projects already in their bodies of work back in 2005. Many of these projects were pretty crappy movies and series admittedly and nothing to be proud of. So the outcome (you see my rating) is not a big surprise here. However, what was already by definition a negative deal-breaker is the fact that Christine Neubauer plays the central character. You see her on the photo as well here. If you know anything a little bit more about German film, especially German small screen films, then you have certainly come across this actress because she has played lead characters in movies for a long long time. And she did so despite the complete absence of talent, versatility and range. It is embarrassing. You could say that she is basically a dark-haired Veronica Ferres, but then again not even Ferres is probably this bad and she is also more famous, so perhaps a more accurate description would be that Neubauer is a dark-haired Dr. Maria Furt(z)wängler. Alright. The really sad thing about these almost 1.5 hours here, however, is that there are actors in this film that could have made for a better movie if the script and lead actress weren't total garbage. With this I am mostly talking about Dutch actor Huub Stapel, who I know mostly through Flodder (he took over for the cast member who tragically died), but honestly, what he did here with a character written so poorly was genuinely impressive. Good actor. Another supporting actor/actress here is Sandra Borgmann and I think that she is also way better than what she was given here and should not appear in crappy films like this one here. So these two characters are a bit of a light at the end of the tunnel, but Neubauer effortlessly turns the film into a trainwreck all on her own. Her line delivery could honestly not be any worse. Same is true about her facian acting, 3 different face expressions max from beginning to end and this is probably still an exaggeration. The worst, however, is how she always plays characters who are flawless, yet struggling because of what other did to this kind-hearted soul. The best example here is when the character's two kids accuse her of cheating on their dad, while she did not even have sex with the new man in her life and also while the real culprit is the father here, not only because of the crimes he committed, but also because he cheated on his wife for a year. But well, in the end she is just too loving and caring for her family and still goes back to him. Of course, as always with Neubauer films, the men in there are crazy for her. Take her new love interest, probably younger than her, her husband who wants her back and finally also the guy who makes sexist statements towards her and who eventually grabs her breasts on one occasion when she has her hands full. Now do not mistake the character for a victim there. Or you can onlly mistake the charcater for a victim. Not the actress. Neubauer always plays in movies that in one way or the other imply that she has massive sexual impact on everybody around her, well everybody who likes women of course. It is all make-believe. I don't think she is remotely attractive. She was just there in the right spot at the right time, namely when chubbier actresses got the predicate "desirable" by definition because they will not join in on the insanity of becoming thinner and thinner. Well, let me say one thing here to make things very clear. Christine Neubauer is not attractive. She may still be more attractive than talented, but this means nothing because her talent percentage is at zero percent.
And it should all be about the talent anyway. Or about the absence of said talent when we focus on the lead actress here. Like I said, it is a bit of a shame really because I definitely felt that some supporting players in here did alright overall. But even for them, the script makes it really difficult. For example I never felt that Borgmann's character really would have become friends with Neubauer's. They were just too different and honestly also that Borgmann's character all of a sudden starts sitting Neubauer's character's kids. Oh well. Then again, even these respectable actors deserve to be criticized for their choice to appear in this movie. I don't know how much moeny they got, but the two I mentioned especially are in demand enough that they did not have to stoop down to this level. Bad choice. As for Neubauer, I am not surprised at all. Her character's story is of course also nonsense all along. Just take the way how she got the job as a cook or in general how she manages to build a life without her husband. It's all make-believe. And when she is not winning, then she is always the victim of others, like for example the evil evil guy who will not employ somebody who hasn't worked for 25 years in her profession. How rude! The one scene in this film that was actually realistic. But hey, with an amazing woman and businesswoman like Neubauer's character, it is absolutely his loss right? I honestly feel sorry for those people, especially females, who look up to the character(s) Neubauer plays and believe her scam. They could probably not recognize a bad film/performance/screenplay if it slapped them in the face. So let me make things 100% clear here. This film is an abomination. Luckily, there is no sequel. The ending certainly could have made for one, but gladly there isn't. Then again, there are as many other Neubauer films out there that lack quality whatsoever. As for this one here: Highly, highly not recommended. A prime example of what is wrong with German television films or sadly the vast majority of German television films. Absolutely do not watch.
And it should all be about the talent anyway. Or about the absence of said talent when we focus on the lead actress here. Like I said, it is a bit of a shame really because I definitely felt that some supporting players in here did alright overall. But even for them, the script makes it really difficult. For example I never felt that Borgmann's character really would have become friends with Neubauer's. They were just too different and honestly also that Borgmann's character all of a sudden starts sitting Neubauer's character's kids. Oh well. Then again, even these respectable actors deserve to be criticized for their choice to appear in this movie. I don't know how much moeny they got, but the two I mentioned especially are in demand enough that they did not have to stoop down to this level. Bad choice. As for Neubauer, I am not surprised at all. Her character's story is of course also nonsense all along. Just take the way how she got the job as a cook or in general how she manages to build a life without her husband. It's all make-believe. And when she is not winning, then she is always the victim of others, like for example the evil evil guy who will not employ somebody who hasn't worked for 25 years in her profession. How rude! The one scene in this film that was actually realistic. But hey, with an amazing woman and businesswoman like Neubauer's character, it is absolutely his loss right? I honestly feel sorry for those people, especially females, who look up to the character(s) Neubauer plays and believe her scam. They could probably not recognize a bad film/performance/screenplay if it slapped them in the face. So let me make things 100% clear here. This film is an abomination. Luckily, there is no sequel. The ending certainly could have made for one, but gladly there isn't. Then again, there are as many other Neubauer films out there that lack quality whatsoever. As for this one here: Highly, highly not recommended. A prime example of what is wrong with German television films or sadly the vast majority of German television films. Absolutely do not watch.
