"Kaspar Hauser" is a German 135-minute movie from almost 25 years ago. It won big at the German Film Awards back then with victories for its direction and lead actor before racking up the big prize as well. I cannot share this acclaim. People in the German-language areas will probably be familiar with the mysterious tale of Kaspar Hauser, a young German who appeared out of nowhere and nobody knew where he came from or what his past looks like. One reason why Hauser is fairly well-known to this date may be Werner Herzog's strong movie on the character. That one is also a lot more famous than this one here. A major difference is the inclusion of the duchy and political complications in this newer film, an aspect that was almost non-existent in Herzog's work. Instead, Herzog focused almost entirely on the character and the people he lived with when he was found. It was all about the integration of Kaspar Hauser. This one here is a lot more about his past. And this is also why the present is pretty uninteresting unfortunately. I do believe André Eisermann was pretty solid and possibly the best aspect about the film, but still he had nothing on Bruno S. and I find it baffling how Eisermann is the one who won the German Film Award. Other than him, there are a couple more familiar faces in here during earlier stages of their careers. Thalbach, Ochsenknecht, Laser, Lohmeyer and Silberschneider are still somewhat famous today, at least here in Germany. But they cannot elevate the material and the uninteresting story in my opinion. The writer and director is the late Peter Sehr. It is his second work in terms of both and was his big breakthrough back then. And again, I cannot share the praise. I don't mind his direction, but the script I found very uninteresting for the most part, which is especially disappointing as the movie is about such a famous character. And when Sehr attempted to make it interesting, for example during Hauser's murder at the end, it still feels off the mark. This ending for example also was obviously included for dramatic purpose and as such it was not convincing as we do not know what really happened to Hauser, so it is mostly a work of fiction, extremely loosely based on real events. I did not enjoy it and I believe it was too long for its own good. Thumbs down.
Review of Kaspar Hauser
