We Wanted to Go to Sea

Rostock In the early 1980s: friends Cornelis (Alexander Fehling) and Andreas (August Diehl) dream of the big wide world, which they want to discover as sailors in the merchant navy of the GDR. But the fulfillment of this dream remains denied to the young men in the following years. They only see the sea from the harbour where they do their work. There would be only one possibility to finally get on board a ship: Cornelis and Andreas would have to work for the Stasi. Reluctantly, Cornelis allows himself to be persuaded by his buddy to sound out their foreman Matze (Ronald Zehrfeld), who is supposedly plotting to escape. But although Cornelis gets all the information the Stasi wants, he backs out at the last moment and decides to be loyal to the newly minted family man. But when he is caught the next day trying to escape, Cornelis realizes that Andreas must have betrayed him. And suddenly not only their friendship, but his whole life is no longer the way it was.

We Wanted to Go to Sea is the feature debut of Toke Constantin Hebbeln, who won the 2007 Student Oscar for his film Never Sea. With his first feature film, Hebbeln proves that he rightly deserves this award. For his drama, though not entirely free of clichés and minor flaws, has become a very haunting, suspenseful and moving film that blends familiar set pieces into an engaging whole.

The fact that Hebbeln has received support from some very good actors is just as much an advantage as the good choice of locations, the coherent set and the atmospheric camera work. Hebbeln and his team succeed very well in drawing the viewer into the story, the period and the political mood in which it is set. The sense of hopelessness that drives Andreas to his betrayal and to his work for the Stasi becomes just as comprehensible as the despair that Cornelis feels when he has to fear that he will never see his secret girlfriend, the Vietnamese Phuong Mai, again. But the scenes set in the prison where Cornelis meets his former foreman and friend Matze again are particularly intense. The sense of ever-increasing hopelessness, constant distrust and anger that governs the men's daily lives here is well conveyed thanks to the intense acting of the cast, good research by the writers and set designers, and intense camerawork.

The positives, however, are countered by a few not-so-successful aspects. For example, Phuong Thao Vu's performance seems too wooden and in direct comparison with that of Alexander Fehling only partially convincing. Also, the impression could arise that August Diehl and Sylvester Groth are too much committed to a certain type of role, which they present here only marginally varied. However, the two actors fit so well into their respective roles and play them extremely well that this only has a slightly negative impact.

Also, that the film in some moments can not quite free itself from the clichés, which the director otherwise avoids so well, clouds the positive overall picture a little. However, it shouldn't be forgotten that Hebbeln is still at the beginning of his career as a filmmaker. And if he can develop his potential, which shines through here more than convincingly, in the future, then we can look forward to a few more very good films.

All in all, Wir wollten aufs Meer is a good drama with very intense moments, but also with some weak points. Lovers of German arthouse cinema and excitingly staged GDR escape stories will be well served here overall, though. Worth seeing

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp