Simpel

Sacrificially, Ben (Frederick Lau) takes care of his sick mother and his mentally handicapped brother Barnabas (David Kross), who is only called Simpel by everyone. When his mother suddenly dies, Simpel is to be placed in a home. Although this would mean for Ben that he could finally lead his own life, it is unimaginable for him to give his brother to a home. But the decision is not his, but his father David's (Devid Striesow), who left the family years ago and now lives a new life in Hamburg. Ben is determined to find his father and get him to reverse the decision. Without further ado, he kidnaps Simpel and sets off with him for the big city. Along the way, they meet medical student Aria (Emilia Schüle) and paramedic Enzo (Axel Stein), who will still play an important role for the two brothers on their difficult journey.

Simpel is the adaptation of the bestselling French novel of the same name by Marie-Aude Murai. Director Markus Goller (Eine ganz heiße Nummer, Alles ist Liebe), along with his co-writer Dirk Ahner, has moved the action to northern Germany and focused even more than the book on the relationship between the brothers. The result leaves a somewhat ambivalent impression. However, there is no question that the actors are really great. This is not only true for David Kross, who delivers an extremely powerful performance as the lovable Simpel. Frederick Lau also proves once again that he is one of the greatest talents of young German cinema. The scene in which Ben finds his dead mother alone more than underlines this impression.

No, it's really not because of the actors that Simpel can't convince all along the line. Rather, this is due to the script and, unfortunately, the staging. While there are many truly poignant scenes that are executed quite splendidly, some very overdrawn characters and moments clearly detract from the overall positive picture. A good example is the character of David, the father of Ben and Barnabas. Devid Striesow, especially at the beginning, plays absolutely believable a man who was completely overwhelmed with a handicapped child and who wants a good future for his other son. When Simpel then shows up at his house during a birthday party, the situation quickly escalates. And in a way that seems too over the top. Here, a more sensitive, restrained drawing would have been just as desirable as, for example, with the head of the home (Ludger Pistor), who has almost become a caricature.

Another problem is some of the dialogue, which sounds too contrived to be truly believable. This makes a lot of emotional moments in particular seem too contrived, which in turn causes them to lose a lot of their actual impact. Given the very successful moments, it's a shame that the sensitive, very authentic tone that prevails there couldn't be maintained throughout the film. Therefore, despite the really strong actors, there is only one: Worth seeing with cutbacks!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp