Horst in Translation ([email protected]) "Little Thirteen" is (despite the title) a German 95-minute movie from 2012, so it will have its 5th anniversary next year. The language is German as well. I must admit that I am not familiar with director Christian Klandt or writer Catrin Lüth, even if this is probably a contender for the most known work from both. The cast is the same as there aren't really any familiar names in here. The only one I believe I have seen before is Gisa Flake, even if I'd never have remembered her name either. But this also has to do with the two biggest roles being played by child actresses and these are pretty much never known. It is the story of two girls, very sexually promiscuous, and their path to happiness and it is a path full of obstacles of course and all they want is to be loved. Very cliché and cringeworthy story, no doubt about it. They try to justify the children's behavior with depicting some of the men they sleep with as morons and by describing the girls's families as broken and their parents living a similar lifestyle like they do. It is all pretty clumsy and these justifications do not work well at all. A whore is a whore is a whore. Sorry, but that's what it is. Of course, the actresses who play the girls were way older already than their characters, otherwise the nude scenes would not have been possible. This is an area where the film tries to be controversial, but I personally found it rather cringeworthy. This movie attempts to be so so much, but the lack of talent from everybody involved, especially the screen writer, makes it a fairly embarrassing outcome. Four stars out of ten is still pretty generous in my opinion as this film has very little to offer that goes beyond the unsuccessful attempt of making a quality film about coming-of-age, family struggles and exploring one's sexuality and important values. I give it a thumbs-down. Not recommended at all.

kosmasp I guess Kids could be one inspiration for this. Or just what the writer of this heard and saw in his private life. One thing is for sure, the movie that is rated "12" in Germany will be at least R-rated in America. It's not explicit, but there is a lot of nudity in it and the actors pretend to be underage, while doing certain things.It's a tough watch and another showcase that you can show skin in Germany as long as you don't portray violence, everything is OK. The exact opposite that is happening in America of course. The drama aspect of it and the new media (recording events and posting them online) that is being incorporated in this make this a very interesting view. But a very hard one as well. Especially because there is almost no redeeming character to root for ...

alshwenbear1 I remember when I saw "kids" (1995), somehow I thought it provided an educational purpose and it it made me plan for the future.Some of us do everything we believe is the right thing to do as a parent, some others don't, and some of us worry, trying not to think about every time we let our kid out the door. And "Little Thirteen" (2013) is a scary movie, not because of ghouls and decapitations, but for the portrayal of the behavior of the protagonists."Little Thirteen" at first, seems to have the only reason as to arouse the "perverts" or to remind us of our own sins and the sins that our own kids may or may have not yet committed. But let me play the guy standing on the middle of the street with a big sign that says: "No salvation" unless... we lock up the M iley Cyru s, and Snookies of the world, and throw the key away.Certainly there is not too much that is new in this movie, it's more of a nasty reminder, seasoned with some porn, and a couple of traumatizing scenes such as a kid slapping a baby to wake him up, or when the same kid is resting in the street like a common drunk, after eating too much candy, for some this is an implausible scenario, for others part of a crude world. It also crossed my mind that this movie was to promote promiscuity and somehow make us believe that such behavior at early age should be acceptable. But as the movie went on, the intentions for it became clearer.The movie opens with what it is supposed to be a very young girl in a t-shirt and underwear, still, the director, manages to send our attention to a hamster's cage, so I hoped that it would be more of an art movie than exploitation. Instead it pounds on what most of us supposed to know by now, that as "glamorous" as it may be on young minds, sex and alcohol without a real education is just the beginning of the end with irreversible consequences. That is where the movie does its best, telling, once more, how dumb is just pleasing our senses and desires, ignoring what is in front of the eyes."Yvonne", one of the characters already has two children and not much to look forward to, and "Charly", her sister, is merely a continuation of that vicious circle. If it sounds familiar it's because it could be your own story or the story of your neighbors, or the person you just crossed on the street. You don't need to be a genius to anticipate that the unhappy forever comes after the "I want to have fun now" and that is what the scene of Yvonne looking through the Pirate Telescope represents while she weeps "seeing" everything she has lost and all she will never have.My only complaint is that the movie could have done without the last bedroom scene; still, I understand that the writers and director used it to make a point for Sarah's closing thoughts. Overall if you are looking for a good time this is not a movie for you, but if you are in the mood for planning someone's future or your own, then welcome to the life of this girls.