Run if you can

So far, 2010 has been a very good year for young German film. Enjoyable works like "13 Semester", "Friendship!" or "vincent will meer" have finally brought a breath of fresh air to the local film landscape. Now, with "Rennen, wenn Du kannst", another very successful film comes to our cinemas, which blends humour and unsentimental drama almost perfectly into a whole worth seeing.

The film by Dietrich Brüggemann tells the story of Benjamin (Robert Gwisdek), who has been in a wheelchair since an accident seven years ago. The accident and its consequences have made Ben bitter and cynical. With his manner he has already scared away many a civilian and he also wants to make life as difficult as possible for his newest helper Christian (Jacob Matschenz). But when he realizes that Christian can stand up to him, he accepts his help and even sees him as something like a friend. By chance, the young cellist Annika (Anna Brüggemann), who has been secretly watching Ben from his apartment for two years, joins the two. The three of them quickly fall into a world of their own, which threatens to be abruptly destroyed when the two men fall in love with the young woman and she just can't decide between Ben and Christian...

The screenplay, written by director Dietrich Brüggemann together with his sister and leading actress Anna Brüggemann, is full of great dialogue, which is wonderfully conveyed to the screen by the three main actors. Special mention should be made of the performance of Robert Gwisdek ("13 Semester"), who, with the help of two paraplegic counselors, has learned to play his role as a quadriplegic almost perfectly and believably.

Dietrich Brüggemann, whose youngest sister is herself in a wheelchair, was keen to deal cinematically with the question of how disabled people live in our society and how they are treated by that same society. But it was equally important to him not to make a dreary thesis film out of it. Brüggemann shows a very good attitude here: cinema can be thought-provoking and entertaining at the same time. More directors should follow this credo, because many a film suffers precisely from the fact that certain topics are approached too cramped and dreary and in no case should be laughed at.

"Rennen, wenn Du kannst" is a film with a great cast, which tells a beautiful story beyond common clichés with a lot of charm, imagination, wit and cleverness. And even if there are a few small lengths in the last third, the film can at least boast of offering the perfect finale at the end. The final scene and the last shot are simply great and in their consistency truly the best ending that could have been found for this story. Lovers of intelligent, affectionate and humorous German cinema should definitely not miss this film!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp