My Blind Date with Life

Saliya Kahawatte (Kostja Ullmann) was a normal student until the day he could no longer read his notes during a paper. The reason for this is an irreparable retinal detachment, which leaves the boy with only five percent of his vision. Nearly blind, Saliya can actually forget his dream of becoming a hotel manager. But he doesn't see why he should just give up now. He applies anyway - and receives one rejection after another. But even that does not discourage him. And so he simply applies for a job at the Bayerischer Hof in Munich, without mentioning his handicap. With his sister, he practices hiding his blindness and manages to get an apprenticeship. But can the hard daily routine in a hotel really be managed without sight?

My Blind Date with Life is based on the incredible but true story of Saliya Kahawatte, who irretrievably lost 95% of his sight as a teenager and, after some harsh setbacks, embraced it not as a disability but as a challenge. He became the first severely visually impaired person to complete a management degree and make a career in the top hotel industry. He is now a successful business coach and motivational trainer who has touched many people with his life story. Kahawatte was also involved in the filming. Thus, he introduced lead actor Kostja Ullmann to his way of working in a luxury hotel in Hamburg, so that Ullmann's play would appear as authentic as possible.

Director Marc Rothemund (Sophie Scholl) has conjured up wonderful feel-good cinema from the true story with the two writers Oliver Ziegenbald (Frau Müller muss weg) and Ruth Toma (Emmas Glück), which only seems a little overdrawn in some dramatic places. Most aspects, however, work really well. Especially the friendship between Saliya and his colleague Max (Jacob Matschenz) makes for some extremely funny, but also beautiful moments. The friendship feels absolutely genuine and as a viewer you get the feeling that you would like to have the two of them as buddies yourself. The slowly blossoming romance with the young mother Laura (Anna Maria Mühe) is also very rousing and pleasingly drawn without any clichés.

But even in moments where arguably well-trodden paths are trodden, the whole thing feels delightfully fresh and entertaining. Rothemund has managed the perfect blend of humor and drama, of emotion and authenticity, which quickly makes you forget even minor flaws. The film is simply beautiful, amusing and moving. It brings joy and courage and also shows some really good acting performances. And the message of the story could not be more beautiful: Never stop believing in yourself and don't let anyone tell you to stop dreaming! For this there is clearly one: Absolutely worth seeing!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp