Winnetou's son

Ten-year-old Max (Lorenzo Germeno) has a big dream: he wants to become a real Indian. Because the Karl May Festival is looking for a new performer for the son of Winnetou. And that's exactly what the boy feels called to do. It's just too bad that Max has nothing at all like an Indian, neither the statue, nor the condition, nor the eagle eyes. But that doesn't stop him from dreaming. For Max hopes that he can reunite his parents (Alice Dwyer, Christoph Letkowski), who have recently separated, as the star of the festival. And so he trains obsessively for the big day of the audition. But he can never do it alone. He is helped by Morten (Tristan Göbel), of all people, who thinks everything is stupid - especially Indians...

Generally speaking, German children's films are rather badly off. Too often the films conceived for a young target audience follow a clear pattern purely geared to commercial success. Charm, originality and cleverness usually fall by the wayside, as does realism. But every now and then there are real little gems in children's films from Germany. Director André Erkau (Life is not for cowards) has clearly succeeded in this with Winnetou's Son. His characters, with the exception of the director of the Karl May Festival played by Uwe Ochsenknecht, are only slightly overdrawn. The adults, in particular, are not the silly caricatures that one is presented with in so many other children's films.

The humor is affectionate and skillfully avoids flat silliness, but still provides enough material for children to laugh heartily. The story not only traces the genesis of an unlikely friendship between two misfits, but also functions as a declaration of love for Karl May's westerns as well as an insightful study of a young boy's fears after his parents separate. All these different facets are served up with refreshing ease, without ever coming across as superficial. Erkau has found the perfect mixture to tell a story with depth, easily accessible and extremely entertaining.

The experienced actors like Armin Rohde, Alice Dwyer or Uwe Ochsenknecht are easily outplayed by their young co-stars. Especially Lorenzo Germeno is the best proof that there are also in Germany extremely talented child actors who can convince with a lot of naturalness and a completely unaffected play.

Naturally, Winnetou's son also plays with some common clichés and uses some very simple gags. But all in all this wonderful family comedy is a very original, endearing and great directed fun, which was not awarded as a Special Children's Film for nothing. We can only hope that this quality will now also be appreciated by the audience. The film would have deserved it all: For all children from 5 years, but also for the accompanying adults absolutely worth seeing!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp