Anne loves Philip

Anne (Maria Annette Tanderø Berglyd) is ten years old and an unpredictable bundle of energy. With her best friend Beate (Aurora Bach Rodal), Anne enjoys being a kid: swimming, romping, dancing, just doing whatever you feel like. But then Philipp (Otto Garli) joins Anne's class and for the first time in her life the girl is in love. Too bad Ellen (Vilde Fredriksen Verlo), the prettiest and most popular girl in the class, also has her eye on the new guy. Soon nothing is the way it used to be. Anne even falls out with Beate. And she also wants to get rid of her rival in a particularly mean way. But can she still be friends with Philipp after that?

Anne Loves Philipp is based on the 1984 bestseller of the same name by Norwegian author Vigdis Hjorth, who has lovingly and humorously processed experiences from her own childhood in the book. In the Scandinavian-speaking world, the novel is one of the most popular books ever, and the story of Anne was also successfully brought to market in Germany. The film adaptation of Anne Sewitsky has become a very charming children's film, which can please with partly refreshingly quirky wit, charming child actors and a lot of naturalness.

The problems of children, their friendships or their first love are told so sensitively that you as a viewer really have the feeling that the makers not only understand their target audience, but also really take seriously. Sure, the whole thing is first and foremost a comedy, but the humor doesn't consist of flat silliness, but arises from the comedy of the respective situation. For instance, when it is shown, in a way that would be unthinkable in an American children's film, why Anne's father is sometimes so incredibly embarrassing to the girl.

At other moments, however, the story really gets to your heart. And again, the production hits just the right tone. No false sentimentalities are used, no big kitsch is used to push the tear jerker. When it crashes between best friends, the great love is not returned or one is ridiculed in front of the entire school, then it becomes clear that reality is often bad enough, especially in children's eyes, and that there is nothing to be artificially overdramatized to evoke appropriate emotions in the audience.

So Anne Loves Philip is, all in all, a really endearing film, which, with its natural child actors, its typical Nordic wit and a whole lot of charm, is likely to delight not only children but also the accompanying adults. Let's hope that there will always be room for innocent and authentic children's entertainment like this in cinemas in the future - and that such films will be able to find their audience even without animation, fast cuts and cool 3D effects. Worth seeing

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp