Horst in Translation ([email protected]) "Was nützt die Liebe in Gedanken" or "Love in Thoughts" is a German movie from over 10 years ago that stars Daniel Brühl and August Diehl, the possibly two biggest players in terms of the New German Wave of cinema in the 21st century. Anna Maria Mühe (daughter of Ulrich) and Jana Pallaske play the major female parts, both fairly well known, at least here in Germany. The film is based on real happenings between the two World Wars, which is maybe the biggest reason to watch it. Sadly, it is also almost the only reason as I have to say I was not too impressed by Achim von Borries' script and direction in this one. Brühl and Diehl have given better portrayals in better movies too.Two best friends make a pact to kill those who broke their hearts and commit suicide afterward, but only one of them sticks to the plan. This is in theory a pretty interesting plot, but unfortunately the movie loses itself in all kinds of love triangles and apart from a couple scenes early on and the final showdown, there really isn't too much in this film about the aforementioned pact. I cannot say I really cared for the characters or with whom they were in love, which really hurt my overall perception of the film. I also felt that the fact that this plays in the 1920 could have played a bigger role in terms of political situation or general inclusions other than costumes and set decorations. Of course, it should not have been about this at the core, but still I think it may have helped the film to have a little more emphasis on the time during which it was set. Overall, I do not recommend the watch. I thought this would be better and I am actually glad this was such a short film, only runs for 80 minutes (without credits).

Crap_Connoisseur "Love In Thoughts" is a beautifully made, yet ultimately pretentious, German drama based on an event in the life of the author, Paul Krantz (who published under the name of Ernst E. Noth).The film focuses on Paul's friendship with Guenter and his love for Guenter's sister, Hilde. This scenario is further complicated by the fact that Hilde is having an affair with Hans, a man that Guenter also loves. Paul and Guenter discuss taking their own lives, and those of their lovers, when their love has reached "it's zenith". Over the course of a weekend, Paul and Guenter are rejected by the objects of their affection and they reach the point where they have to decide whether or not to go through with their murder/suicide pact.My biggest objection to the film is the treatment of Paul and Guenter's fatalistic view of love. Their actions are treated as grandiose and tragic. Personally, I'm not sure what is particularly heroic or romantic about two losers who turn homicidal/suicidal when their imaginary lovers reject them. This problem is compounded by the fact that Hilde and Hans are so unappealing. Hilde is the town bike, who not only disrespects her brother's emotions but is also rude to her best friend. Hans, on the other hand, is a chef with bad teeth, who doesn't appear to have anything going for him at all.Despite the film's general pretentiousness and self importance, it does have many things to offer. Firstly, the actors. I enjoyed Daniel Bruehl's portrayal of Paul. He is a little bit pouty but the subtlety of his performance is a huge relief in comparison to August Diehl's hammy turn as Guenter. The film offers the chance to view another fine actor in Thure Lindhardt, who plays the creepy Hans. Furthermore, the film looks absolutely fantastic. The cinematography is stunning. The landscape is captured beautifully and a scene in which the teenagers get high on absinthe is wonderful filmed.This is an accomplished film but by no means a great one. Despite its significant beauty, "Love In Thoughts" is ultimately hollow and insubstantial.

lyuba Three words would best describe this movie - an incredibly beautiful drama! And although the director might've made a better use of the camera, this doesn't spoil the whole movie at all, for it has some very good actors and a brilliant story to boast with.The most promising young actors of contemporary German cinema - Daniel Brühl (as Paul), August Diehl (as Günther) and Anna Marie Mühe (as Hilde) - all make wonderful performances and tell the story of extremely tangled relationships, where love and happiness, pain and rage twist and turn their lives.Paul falls in love with Hilde, who, however, appreciates sex and fun more than love. At the time she seems to be much more interested in the ex-boyfriend of her brother - Günther, who himself is still in love with him, though, so, when the three of them decide to spend a weekend in their parent's summer house drinking and having fun and the ex eventually turns up, the passions simply get out of hand.Substantial for the further development of the story is a suicide club, that Günther and Paul found, based on the idea that we can be really happy only once in our lives and afterwards we're punished for that one moment of immense happiness by having the bitter memory of it. And since they consider happiness to be the essence of life, they decide that once this moment is over, they should kill themselves and the person who took them their happiness/love away, as well, before they feel miserable. And Günther does that.The beautiful scenery and the unobtrusive but still remarkable score make just the perfect finish to this beautiful story.Some viewers might find the paste rather slow, but I think that this is the only way to really get close to the characters and understand their motives. In conclusion, I wouldn't recommend this extremely poetic movie to everyone, but only to those lovers of the European cinema, who would appreciate something very deep, sophisticated and demanding.

berlinmitte Oh my, I don't know where to begin. This movie was so unbelievably bad...First, the casting sucked a lot. Daniel Brühl and Jana Pallaske just aren't teens from the 1920s, they look like standard germans from today. The whole "party" looked like they were cast right from Berlin Mitte, with their 70s retro hairdo. Big No No! The most emberassing moment was the one where a "DJ" (??!!) started scratching on an old grammophone. And it gets worse by the minute, the whole plot is boring, badly written and poorly directed. The only highlights are Anna Maria Mühe and August Diehl, but they can't save this boring wreck from sinking. If you really want to see this movie rent it. It's not worth your $$ at the box office.