When I watched this film, it was titled "Westen" (The West), but it looks like they're going with "Lagerfeuer" (Campfire) now. Anyway, based on a novel this movie was written by Heide Schwochnow and directed by her son Christian, a true family project not too common in the world of modern movie-making. For those two, it's already their fourth project together.
Jördis Triebel won the German Film Award for Best Lead Actress here and while I liked her performance, I have to say I thought Juliane Köhler would have been my choice. My favorite performance in "Lagerfeuer" comes from Alexander Scheer who some of you might know from "Sonnenallee". He plays the love interest to Triebel's character here and so does Jacky Ido ("Inglourious Basterds"), who to some extent represents the main character's arrival in the west. Scheer on the other hand, stands for her roots in the East. There is no real solution which path Triebel's character chooses, although a lot links to Scheer.
All in all, it's an okay movie, doing justice to the whole GDR topic including an interesting part about all the different stamps you need to become a FRG citizen, but also bringing nothing really new to a table that has been laid uncountable times. Tristan Göbel shows that he is one of the more talented child actors Germany currently has and his character included some interesting references such as his scarf or the way school looked like back then in general. What I also liked about the movie is that there is no solution too the boy's father's disappearance. It's just not all black and white.
Finally, I think the film is worth a watch for those who are interested in the whole East/West Germany conflict or just like movies centered around strong female characters. All others can skip.
Jördis Triebel won the German Film Award for Best Lead Actress here and while I liked her performance, I have to say I thought Juliane Köhler would have been my choice. My favorite performance in "Lagerfeuer" comes from Alexander Scheer who some of you might know from "Sonnenallee". He plays the love interest to Triebel's character here and so does Jacky Ido ("Inglourious Basterds"), who to some extent represents the main character's arrival in the west. Scheer on the other hand, stands for her roots in the East. There is no real solution which path Triebel's character chooses, although a lot links to Scheer.
All in all, it's an okay movie, doing justice to the whole GDR topic including an interesting part about all the different stamps you need to become a FRG citizen, but also bringing nothing really new to a table that has been laid uncountable times. Tristan Göbel shows that he is one of the more talented child actors Germany currently has and his character included some interesting references such as his scarf or the way school looked like back then in general. What I also liked about the movie is that there is no solution too the boy's father's disappearance. It's just not all black and white.
Finally, I think the film is worth a watch for those who are interested in the whole East/West Germany conflict or just like movies centered around strong female characters. All others can skip.