Sapphire Blue - DVD

Film: Gwendolyn Sheperd (Maria Ehrich) still can't really come to terms with the fact that she can travel through time. Although she has slowly gotten the time jumps under control and should now actually concentrate on her mysterious mission, she is with her thoughts but always with her time travel partner Gideon de Villiers (Jannis Niewöhner), with whom she has fallen madly in love. But there is no time for teenage love affairs, because, after all, Gwendolyn and Gideon are not supposed to do much less than save the world. And to do this, the girl must learn the etiquette and dances of past centuries rather than fool around with her lover. But she doesn't really want to believe that her mission will serve the purpose she's been led to believe. With the help of her allies - her friend Leslie (Jennifer Lotsi), the gargoyle Xemerius (voiced by Rufus Beck), the school ghost James (Kostja Ullmann) and the young version of her grandfather (Bastian Trost) - Gwendolyn wants to find out more about her family's well-kept secret and thus uncover the truth behind her time travel missions. But time is running out, as the nasty Count of St. Germain (Peter Simonischek) is hot on her trail and tightening his deadly noose...

Sapphire Blue is the sequel to the hit movie Ruby Red and the second big screen adaptation from Kerstin Gier's popular Gemstone trilogy. The production of this sequel could benefit from the fact that both in front of and behind the camera in large parts again the team from part 1 together and also in terms of equipment, costumes and visual effects was already much available, on which could be fallen back. However, in return there was less production time available, which increased the pressure on the makers. After all, more time jumps and historical crowd scenes had to be realized in less time. And also in terms of effects, with the furious finale and the animated figure of gargoyle Xemerius should be added a notch.

The result has the same strengths, but unfortunately also similar weaknesses, as Ruby Red. The biggest strength here is lead actress Maria Ehrich, who is just as convincing as a time-traveling heroine against her will as she is as a normal, lovesick teenage girl. With a lot of charm and a pleasant naturalness Ehrich easily plays over some of the script weaknesses. The chemistry between her and Jannis Niewöhner is coherent, which also makes the romantic aspect of the story work well. But at the same time, this is also one of the very big weaknesses of the film. Because the focus of the film adaptation was put too much on the not always easy relationship between Gwendolyn and Gideon, which wasted a lot of the suspense potential that the novel offers. Since the story seems to turn in circles and seems repetitive in this romantic aspect, the tension is thwarted again and again and in the long run even something like boredom spreads.

Here it would have done the film a lot of good to move away from the overly clear Twilight fairway and put the emphasis more on the fantasy adventure, rather than on the teen romance. The second problem, as with Ruby Red, is the clear definition of the target audience. While many aspects, including the romance itself, are more likely to appeal to girls 14 and up, other moments suggest that younger children up to 12 are more likely to be targeted here. The design of Xemerius alone is extremely trivialized for children, and Katharina Thalbach's acting is again so over-the-top that only children can actually laugh at it. Smaller children may find the story itself exciting, but they will find all the smooching rather disgusting. And for teenagers who pine for Gideon or Gwendolyn or watch the film for the fantasy elements, Xemerius in particular simply should have been cooler to really work.

If the production had been clearly aimed at a young audience of 14 and up, and if the script had focused a little less on the romantic back-and-forth, Sapphire Blue might well have had the makings of a very great fantasy adventure. The potential is quite apparent not only in the book, but also in some of the scenes in the film adaptation. But like Ruby Red, this movie squandered a lot of good opportunities. The whole thing is still nice adventure entertainment, but nothing more. But still: if you already liked the Ruby Red movie and didn't mind the criticisms listed here, you'll definitely love Sapphire Blue. And for such fans then also applies: well worth seeing!

Picture + Sound: There is nothing to complain about the audiovisual realization of the film on the DVD. The picture is absolutely clean and the colors are very powerfully implemented, which is especially positively noticeable in the beautiful costumes and equipment. Image sharpness is at a very good level, especially in brighter outdoor scenes, and there are no serious drops in quality to be seen in darker scenes either. The audio is present in a powerful Dolby Digital 5.1 mix, as well as a DTS mix that is even a bit livelier. On both tracks, dialogue sounds well intelligible from the speakers, and the numerous sound effects consistently provide pleasing surround dynamics. Good!

Extras: The bonus material is not uninteresting, but is unfortunately mostly too short and too promo-heavy turned out. This applies to the three featurettes (4:48 min. in total) about the chronograph, the first great love and the witching hour, as well as to the six mini-clips (5:27 min. in total), which deal with the stunts and the costumes, among other things. This is followed by three making of clips about the good atmosphere on set (approx. 1:22 min.), the special effects (approx. 4:27 min.), as well as about Xemerius (approx. 5:09 min.). Otherwise, there is only the trailer and more program tips.

Conclusion: Like its predecessor, Sapphire Blue does not use the full potential of the successful book template. However, the good leading actress, the convincing equipment and costumes and a few nice effects comfort at least fans of the first part over the dramaturgical weaknesses. Those who already liked the Ruby Red adaptation are guaranteed to love Sapphire Blue as well. The DVD is technically very well realized, the bonus material is unfortunately very scarce and superficial. Nevertheless, there is for fans a very clear: Recommendable!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp