onlinebirgit As a native speaker, I read the book several times, found it splendid, so I HAD to see that movie. Weired enough that film contains everything a great movie should have: great soundtrack, good camera, nice sets, wonderful surrealistic takes of the empty landscapes and the highway. I mean, road movie, what can go wrong? Anyway I realized that I was bored already after the first minutes. It's simply bad acting and bad timing. The main actors Göbel (Maik) and Batbileg (Tschick) seem to be selected only by appearance, their dialogues stuck and stumble, no timing at all, face expressions stay the same all the time, what could be funny stays dead, learned by heart directly from the text book and that's it.Every scene is translated directly from the book, there are only minor changes (which not all of them I understand, so why is Maik sketching Tatjana, and not Beyoncé; why is the original joke with the maths test messed up etc.). Anyway, every scene ends up in a kind of faithfully following the book. You sit there and tick off unconsciously "well, now this episode is done, okay, now follows this one, good, next comes that...." - But you never submerge in that movie; the original feeling of ultimate freedom, fun and surrealistic humor is totally absent! I really don't understand why the movie gets good ratings everywhere. It's no bad substance, but it totally misses the goal.

Reno Rangan The coming-of-age road adventure based on the book of the same name. From the director of 'Soul Kitchen'. It was like any other similar themed teen flick, has all the same formulas, but what makes it special is it is being a German film. I'm not saying it is new for German film, but definitely not every year flooded with such plenty of flicks like in the Hollywood. Besides, there are other major differences, as it is culture, mindset of the kids and the type of adventure.The original title name is the name of one of the main film characters. But the story was observed from another character who has been with him all along. Opened with some road accident and soon the flashback follows to reveal what happened till that point of the film. For me the story did not impress, it was how everything was presented on the screen. It was a 90 minute film, and straight to the point kind of narration. Which means the pace was never compromised.It tells the story of two teenage boys how they have spent their summer. After not invited to the birthday party to whom he has a crush on, Maik decides to go an unexpected road trip with his new, weird friend. A lifetime journey. Being a teenager and taking a such ride unwraps his mind as he was only living in the small world so far. Which particularly points out his one sided romance. At the end of his adventure where stands and the aftermath of everything was briefly disclosed.❝Someone just needs to scratch in some letters, then it will be 'Atomic Crisis of 2016'.❞The 'road movie' has been just a concept, but the stories created around it was very nice. Like many mini episodes, whenever they encounter the new people, the new places. At its halfway through, the third character was introduced. It was one of the best improvement. At first it was not intentional, but going further it becomes. Might not close to the real life, but makes such impression that's not too far from the reality. On how some people slipped away from the actual world and the contact with its people. Obviously with the reason, that does not reveal to us because of not to make any further complication in the storytelling.The overall best thing about the film was not digging anything so in detail. Everything about the film was a rough cut. Except the opening parts in the school where the plot was initiated. It was more of an introduction than the initiation. And the remaining film was a transformation from something what we knew its state of condition (of the main character) to the ultimate goal (which was not expected).It drags the gay topic, but throw away immediately. Similarly a few other topics as well. Yeah, the film was fun, as it told from the teenager's perspective, not the entire film to be considered very seriously. Though there some parts make sense and inspires, despite done/committed on the contrary. When it comes to the cast, it was flawless performances. Both the lead boys were awesome. The odd combination worked out well. But it was not that odd, while narrating the story.The Maik reminded me the Wiley Wiggins from 'Dazed and Confused'. The film was not predictable, but the path it has taken was. If I say the film was excellent, that does not mean all of you would enjoy it. Surely teenagers, and children film fans would, but those who are familiar with this kind might find nothing new in it. For them it does not matter, it is an American or a German film. That does not mean it's not worth a watch. So try it, despite you are going to like it or not in the later.7.5/10

mineshaft-gap German road movie about two teenage boys going on German roads during summer vacations. It is a simple movie but very well executed and with a great cast. It makes you want to become young and fearless again, nostalgia, nostalgia, always a powerful sentiment. In background it tackles important topics including dysfunctional families and races.

Horst in Translation ([email protected]) "Tschick" is a German-language movie from this year and the newest Bork by successful Turkish/German filmmaker Faith Akin. He has not yet made a kids movie in his career and even if this one here is certainly also a film for grown-ups, the focus is still on two teenage boys and their time on the road. This one here is really the epitome of a kids-oriented road movie. Both boys are somewhat outsiders, but they join forces and spend the most interesting summer holidays one can imagine. This especially refers to Maik as he is really the central character here in the story. The film starts with him and ends with him and we also find out a lot more about his life, his parents, his love interest etc. compared to Tschick. It takes us two thirds into the film to even get to know about Tschick's sexual identity while we learn about Maik's crush in the very first minute of the film. The lead actor here is Tristan Göbel and he has worked in a solid deal of films already given his age, certainly pretty experienced for a 14-year-old boy. The actor who plays the title character (Anand Batbileg) may be the exact opposite almost as, apparently, he is still a rookie when it comes to acting and performing.But that is perfectly fine as these slightly over 90 minutes here are much more about the story and also the coming-of-age than about individual performances. And if you hear about this subject, then you will not be surprised to see Hark Bohm working on the screen play as the topic of coming-of-age was also very present in his most known works, even if they are already from several decades back. His adoptive son Uwe also acts in here. Speaking about the cast, you will find several somewhat known names appearing in here, even if they (like Friederike Kempter for example) only play very small roles. The only ones with more screen time are the actors who play the protagonist's parents and like others these are familiar faces too, at least to German movie buffs, even if I only recognized the father. You may not know the names, but you may know the people who act in there and realize that you have seen their faces in several other works. Then again, it's not really important who they are. What is much more important is that Akin once again brings us a convincing work and you can describe pretty much all of his works as bold and relevant, even if you are age-wise and society-wise far away from the main characters. Finally, he has shown us that he can delivers also in terms of children's films, a genre that is truly popular right now. This one here, based on the novel by late writer Wolfgang Herrndorf, is definitely worth seeing. I recommend you check it out.