Lessons of a Dream (2011) User Reviews

Underrated gem

[vpatrick · 7/10 · 22 June 2013]

I've caught this on TV the other day, so I didn't have any expectations. The title seemed interesting enough and I decided to give it a try.

A few things you should know about the movie, first, without spoiling anything. The movie starts slow, so if you're impatient, this isn't for you. It has a good reason to do so, it develops very well most of the characters, as well as the stage. The actors, the set, everything does a great job to transport you back in time to 1870's Germany. Oh, and expect some unreasonable behavior, like body punishment against children, but to a tolerable extent. This was after all, 1870's.

The characters are well developed, the stage is beautifully set. If initially I was just curious about the movie, as the time passed I started to care about the protagonists and I was literally drawn into the action. Drama is not my first choice of movie by far, but this movie impressed me because it touches mostly on the key word: "team play". It's also about fair play, choices, love, children, parenting, freedom of expression, history, as well as a story about (German) football.

I would recommend this to anyone who cares about what is right. 7/10 with a warmly recommendation.

A charming heart felt feel good movie

[vkaufmann1 · 8/10 · 18 June 2014]

I caught this movie after a hard day of watching football during the 2014 world cup in Brazil. The movie is about the beginnings of the sport in the 1870s Germany or as it was known back then, an empire. Fresh from various military successes against the French and the English, national pride was deeply ingrained. Along comes Konrad Koch, a young German who had spent several years in England. With him he brings a football. He has been hired as an English teacher in the city of Braunschweig. There he encounters resistance to change amongst the snobbish kids and their even snobbier parents. Suffice it to say, the beautiful game paves the way for change.

A charming movie. In a way, reminds me a bit of a more intellectual version of "The Goonies" seems like a stretch but its not. Definitely worth seeing. Goal!!

A good German movie

[FrenchCanadian · 7/10 · 9 November 2015]

The beginning of the football in Germany in the 1870's.

It's a good movie, but...

Some cuts make me remember the Dead Poets Society movie. Because this movie was very good, "Der ganz große Traum" is also good.

Daniel Brühl is awesome in this movie. He plays absolutely right.

The end of the movie give us some great information about football in Germany.

I watch this movie on Internet (TV Website). This is filmed as an American movie and not the German-style one. That's probably why many people like this movie.

Appealing period school drama.

[Mozjoukine · 16 October 2011]

Someone explain to me why a film about an advocate of the British way of life teaching soccer to pre WW1 German school kids should be more plausible and involving that Robin Williams extolling the virtues of poetry to his lot. That doesn't compute but it's a fact.

Handsome costume movie production values. Strong performances and a feeling of connection with wider events battle the film's predictable situation and development.

Brühl gets better every film and could become a major player. The rest are unfamiliar. It will be interesting to see if any of them realise the potential shown here.

Delivers nicely in pretty much all areas

[Horst_In_Translation · 6/10 · 25 March 2016]

"Der ganz große Traum" or "Lessons of a Dream" is a German 100-minute movie (without credits) from 5 years ago. It was co-written and directed by Sebastian Grobler and it surprises me to see that he has not made another theatrical release after this film as I quite enjoyed the watch here. It may have to do with Daniel Brühl giving one of his better performances as the main character, but the real heart and should of this film is a script. Sometimes too many cooks spoil the broth, but not here. Well done. The movie is in theory about how football came to Germany when a teacher who worked in England recently returns to Braunschweig in the late 19th century and teaches his students about this totally unknown activity.

But this film is also a good watch for those with little interest in ball-games. The characters (grown-ups and children) are interesting to watch with who they are, how they behave and who they become during the course of the film. Social standards play a big role as well as Germans really not liking the English at this point in time. I do not have one particular scene that I enjoyed the most here, but I also don't have a scene I really disliked, which is much more important. It was a nice watch from start to finish. I also believe the fact that pretty much half of the cast are children makes this a quality watch for younger audiences. I have seen many German so-called kids films that offered nothing and parents should not let their kids watch them because they are just utterly forgettable. This one is different. It is an interesting watch as it plays mostly in a school and also delivers convincingly in terms of group dynamics. A good message on fair play that kids might remember and this one applies to a lot more than football.

"Der ganz große Traum" is a success and it is nice to see the awards attention it received. Well-deserved. For me it was particularly nice because I also like Burghart Klaußer, Thomas Thieme, Axel Prahl and Justus von Dohnanyi and one of them was basically in every scene that was not visually about the kids playing football. The ending was also nice with the remaining doubts (based on racism) crushed by team spirit and competition. Go check this movie out. You will not be disappointed. I certainly recommend seeing it and it is closer to a **** than a **. The music is pretty great too. Don't miss out here.

German Dead Poet's Society

[hanno-wupper · 10/10 · 25 December 2015]

Yes, the movie is a kind of German version of Dead Poet' Society. If you like one, you will like the other.

Both movies are about teaching and show the relation young teacher - elder teachers - pupils - parents.

A young teacher has modern ideas and didactical goals that most of his elder colleagues either do not understand or find threatening. It takes some time before the pupils understand what he wants them to learn. Conservative parents do everything to get the teacher dispelled from school.

Because the movies are so similar, the differences between the two societies in which they take place become very clear. Also, the endings differ, but that is less important.