Frau Ella (2013) User Reviews

Dr. Taxi

[kosmasp · 5/10 · 12 April 2015]

Apart from the inciting incident (it's far fetched to say the least how our two main characters meet, but even more so what makes them bond together), the movie is pretty decent. It's a German comedy (most movies produced here will either be comedy or drama, but any starring Schweighöfer is very likely to be a common comedy), but it does actually seem to care about the characters in it.

The dialogs are decent enough, the characters feel real (as real as possible that is) and especially our older female actress is very good. We know where this is heading (no pun intended), but it's still kinda fun to watch.

I am positively surprised

[Horst_In_Translation · 6/10 · 22 May 2016]

"Frau Ella" is a German 105-minute movie from 3 years ago and it stars Matthias Schweighöfer, August Diehl and Ruth Maria Kubitschek as the title character. With the title for my review here, I am mostly referring to the fact that I am not a great Schweighöfer fan at all and I believe he plays the same character pretty much in all his films. There is also no diversion to that rule in here, but it is still bearable because he finally appears in a film that has a good script and does not make him look even worse than the way he portrays the character. So I did not like Schweighöfer in here, but he is not bad enough to destroy the film this time. Still, it becomes painfully obvious how limited he is in terms of range next to a truly gifted actor like August Diehl. Diehl is a scene-stealer here and as he is in the film almost from beginning to end, he is the one who carries this film. Together with Ruth Maria Kubitschek, that is. I believe she was a good choice for the old Mrs. Ella and she portrays the character with dignity and still manages to keep it from becoming too kitschy or sentimental.

There are some parts with the script where I am not 100% with screenplay writer Dirk Ahner or novel writer Florian Beckerhoff, for example with the way they had to let her die near the end, which made the film take a turn for the negative in terms of sentimentality, but this and a handful other moments (such as the repetitive friendship drama between the two men, which did not feel realistic) that did not convince me were far from really bad and they do not leave a too negative stain on the overall viewing experience. It is a solid film that elaborates nicely on the issue of coming to terms with his feeling with regard to really many aspects that play a role in life. As a whole, I really expected a worse film here, but I must say it was done with class. The film delivers in terms of drama, comedy and emotion. I did enjoy the watch and I especially liked Kubitschek and Diehl as well, who is as bold as always and hits all the right notes with his character. With a more talented male lead actor I may have given this an even better rating perhaps, but luckily all the scenes with Schweighöfer always also involved one of the two co-leads or Anna Bederke, who also did fine, so it never relied on Schweighöfer alone carrying the film and that's why it turned out so well. I recommend the watch. One of the better German films of the last 5 years. Thumbs up.

Wilhelm Meister meets Berliner Schnauzte

[gabridl · 3/10 · 5 July 2015]

Annoying situation comedy that tries to cross Goethe with Bertrand Blier and fails. Here's the story in brief: a young Berliner learns from a dying woman who rejected her GI suitor (read post-WWII Germany) that he must acknowledge his bastard son with his German girlfriend (read Germany post-Unification) while on a voyage of discovery to France (read Germany's experience with the EU). If this sounds didactic it is. I suppose it's part of a grand literary tradition: Goethe's Bildungsroman was just as dull.

To be avoided. I only watched it because I was stuck on a flight from China where every other option was in Mandarin.

Very heartwarming, feel-good Drama with a deeper Message

[missdiana2002 · 10/10 · 9 April 2014]

A young Taxi Driver finds out his on and off Girlfriend is pregnant and gets in an Accident. At the Hospital he is put into the same Room as an elderly Lady due do a Flooding in the Hospital. Somewhat annoyed having to share a Room, she starts warming his Heart and when telling him about her upcoming Surgery - as a Med Dropout - he understands that this simple Surgery could kill her if she signs the Papers. Under Medication she does sign the Documents, so Sasha doesn't see any other Option than to get her out of the Clinic. With Cops looking for them Sasha gets nervous and a bit annoyed with Ms. Ella again. She agrees to be taken home after they go to one Place she'd like to show him. There the spontaneous Idea evolves to drive to Paris to look for Ms. Ella's long lost Love, a Soldier that she didn't have the Guts to move to the U.S. with.