"Zuckersand" or "Sugar Sand" is a German television film from 2017, so this one is still relatively recent and it is the most known work by writer and director Dirk Kummer, who was around the age of 50 when he penned and shot this one. Like most other German small screen releases, this one runs for 1.5 hours, slightly under in fact, and it is another GDR themed film from Germany. This one plays in the 1970s still, so not too close to the Fall of the Wall, but motives and metaphors already make the direction here obvious and where it is heading. It is also a kids-themed movie as in the center of it all, there is the friendship between Fred and Jonas who comes from families that have a very different perception of the GDR. Jonas' mother tries her best to get a certificate that allows her and her son to leave the country, while Fred's family, well most of all his dad are very convinced that socialism is the right approach. Without a doubt, this results in conflicts. Now lets take a look at the cast list before we elaborate further on the story. The two most known names are Schubert and Friedel, with the latter being known of course still today for playing the teacher on Haneke's Oscar-nominated "White Ribbon", which could very well stay his career-defining performance for the rest of his life, even if he did not get that much awards attention for said performance. German film buffs could also recognize Hermann Beyer here, who plays what you could call a grandfatherly friend. But I must admit I did not, so yeah, the cast is okay for a television film and the actors are all pretty experienced, but really big names you won't find in here. Now back to the story: The film starts relatively harmless honestly and it seems like there is a political message, of course there is looking at when and where it is set, but not too serious. Still, it was clear this would never be a film that offered only a slightest bit of comedy. Nothing funny here. In the second half, there is a huge plot twist, something happens (actually two things) that change really absolutely everything for everybody involved and lets be clear here: The way GDR officials are depicted and described here says nothing positive about them at all. I think it was a bold move to kill off one character like that, but it also felt a bit exaggerated I must say and the film struggles to depict shades that go beyond black-and-white. Maybe Friedel's character is the one who comes closest to something like that. There was more I did not like near the end, namely how the girl spending time with Ernst came out of nowhere honestly and was not the most realistic turn in the story here. And the moment when Schubert's character elaborates on how she has been communicating with the other mother through secret language well this could have been the best and most emotional moment of the film and clearly it was also intended this way, but it just did not work out even close honestly to achieving something memorable there. Overall, this film is not a success. With these hundreds of GDR-centered films being made in the past, it is not too easy to come up with something that adds something now. But it still happpens from time to time. This film does not succeed to that regard and rarely manages to scratch the surface. Sure a film set in the GDR can, maybe even has to, be bleak, but it also did not manage to deliver in other fields. Skip the watch.
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