The blue of the sky

The relationship between Marga (Hannelore Elsner) and her daughter Sofia (Juliane Köhler) has never been distinguished by any real emotional depth. But as Marga develops dementia and oblivion increasingly takes over, Sofia must care for her mother, who is completely estranged from her. She seems increasingly haunted by events from her past, but completely unaware of them to Sofia. To help her mother, but also to satisfy her own curiosity, Sofia travels with her mother to Riga, where Marga grew up. Here she uncovers a secret that Marga has been carrying around on her own all these years, and through which the mother-daughter relationship is completely redefined.

The Blue from Heaven is a prime example of why German film is not really held in high regard by many. An unwieldy production, unapproachable and above all extremely exhausting actors and an emotionally cold script make this Bavarian Film Award-winning production a real nuisance. Yet the story itself is not uninteresting. Especially the scenes set in the 1930s exert a certain fascination on the viewer and, thanks to good performances by Karoline Herfurth and David Kross, are small highlights in this otherwise dull affair.

The camera work is also very good in itself, the images exerting a gloomy magic. But unfortunately, director Hans Steinbichler gives the images too little opportunity to develop their full power. They are almost crushed by the melancholic staging and thus contribute to the weak overall impression rather than being able to strengthen it in a positive way. The biggest mistake Steinbichler makes is that he relies too much on the power of Hannelore Elsner's performance. As a result, she is constantly the focus of the camera and the story. If the performance were truly powerful and convincing, the math might have worked out. But the truly annoying acting of the leading lady and the occasionally cruel dialogue put into Elsner's mouth make the moments when Marga is the focus almost unbearable.

This may sound a bit harsh now, but given the fact that so much good potential is wasted here in such a way and the whole thing is then awarded a film prize, while very many better acted and more audience friendly directed works are neither funded nor find their way into cinemas. Das Blaue vom Himmel is a typical TV production (WDR, BR, arte and ARD Degeto were involved in the making) that pretends to be particularly worthwhile, but has nothing more to offer than a good basic idea and a few engaging moments. Spending money on this can't really be recommended

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp