Horst in Translation (filmreviews@web.de) "Sommer '04" or "Sommer '04 an der Schlei" is a German 90-minute movie from 2006, so this one had its 10th anniversary last year. The director is Stefan Krohmer and the screenplay is by Daniel Nocke and both are prolific small screen filmmakers, so here we have the rare occasion of seeing a big screen film by these two that have worked together on quite a few occasions. The main reason for this film being somewhat known is probably lead actress Martina Gedeck and this movie here is actually from the very same year when she starred in her most known work "Das Leben der Anderen", so great year for her, even if this summer movie did not really contribute too much to that. It is all about the relationships in here. People falling in and out of love and there is also a bit of a Lolita aspect to the film. The latter is also the crucial aspect here in how well you will like this movie. I personally wasn't impressed by Svea Lohde unfortunately. She occasionally acts in a solid manner from the physical performance, but other than that I think she wasn't memorable at all and a better casting decision could have helped the film a lot. Seeliger is also relatively forgettable I think and Davor's character does not get half the screen time and elaboration he deserved. And not just the one he deserved, but also the one Gedeck's character deserved as she is so close to him. As for the crucial scene in the last third of the movie on the boat, well.. it's personal taste how much you like it and how much it makes sense to you. For me, it was all a bit for the sake of it to be honest. And eventually, after Seeliger's character basically ditched Gedeck's already, then we see at the end that they are a couple a long time after and apparently also happy? Oh well this does not fit at all in terms of what we saw earlier. I think Gedeck is a pretty solid actress, but this film here just has too many weaknesses overall for her to make up for it and besides, she is not that memorable either and has given several superior performances in her career. This 1.5-hour movie is not a failure by any means, but you see from start to finish how it reeks of unfulfilled ambition, but it comes so short with every impact it is trying to make. I give it a thumbs-down. Not recommended.

TxMike This is one of the streaming movies available on Netflix. It is under the general category of "coming of age" but it isn't that at all. German with English subtitles.A family is spending the summer in a sparse cottage near a large lake, and their usual daytime pastime is to go sailing. There is a mother, a father and a 15 year old son. In addition the 12 year old girlfriend of the boy is staying with them, while her parents are somewhere vacationing in Mexico. It seems strange that there is no contact with the absent parents, and there is no way to contact them.Quite by coincidence the group meets a man, who also sails, and who lives alone nearby. The man brings home the 12 year old girl, and soon the family caring for her begins to distrust the man's motives. What is a 40-something man doing spending time alone with a 12 year girl? Later in the movie it gets more complicated when the man declares he is in love with the young girl. Martina Gedeck, 40-something, is the mother, Miriam Franz. Peter Davor is her husband, André. Lucas Kotaranin is their teen son, Nils. Svea Lohde, who really was 12 or 13 during filming, is the girl, Livia.The man who takes a liking to Livia is Robert Seeliger as Bill, who by his own admission had many, many women while he was in the USA, but now only had honorable intentions towards Livia. This movie has some interesting elements, but overall not a particularly good or satisfying movie.SPOILERS: During one of the sailing days, Miriam insists that she and Livia would sail together, while the others sailed in another boat. She wanted to talk to her, ask her to stay away from Bill, right after Bill had told Miriam his feelings for Livia. This happened while Miriam and Bill also were having an affair, meeting at his place some afternoons. But while sailing Livia accidentally hit her head on the side of the boat when they were switching sail directions, and a few minutes later she had to lie down, and went to sleep. A coma actually, because soon we were seeing them plan a funeral. A year or two later Miriam and Bill had gotten together and met Livia's parents who brought a letter Livia had written that summer, she had recognized Miriam and Bill would be a better couple, and it was her intent to try to bring them together.

film_riot A thing that I have recently noticed more and more is how well the acting in the newer German cinema is. In "Sommer '04" by director Stefan Krohmer and writer Daniel Nocke it is definitely Martina Gedeck who stands out. Her character Miriam is very self-confident, but still natural and believable. Her decisions often seem volatile, which not only applies for her, but also for the other female main character Livia (played by young talent Svea Lohde). Livia is the center of the story that unveils and when she eventually dies (very surprisingly), I definitely was stunned by the triviality that it happened with. The only thing not believable was the ending. Maybe screenwriter Daniel Nocke felt the need to add a big final twist to his otherwise very good script, but it did more harm than it did good. But this is outweighed by the strong sides of this film. All characters are very realistic, and although I didn't really sympathize with anyone of them, it seemed to me as if I knew every one of them.

john-575 Currently playing at the 2007 German Film Festival in Apr 2007 in Australia Summer 04 was the first of about 5 German films I will see in the 10 day festival in Melbourne. http://www.goethe.de/ins/au/lp/prj/ff07/enindex.htmMost festivals one film will be the standout. With 2 down and 3 or 4 to go I think this is the one.Really enjoyed all the main performances, namely Martina Gedeck as a late 30's, early 40's woman, the very handsome mid 30s Bill (Robert Seeliger) and the stunning looking Svea Lohde who plays a 12 year old girl in this movie but whose character in some ways is more mature, self assured and worldly. With the relaxed moral views of the parents in this movie and the early sexual maturity portrayed here and accepted by the parents especially the Dad it's hard to say whether she's Lolita-like or not. Development wise she looks the age of the character and yet her outlook is more like someone in their later teens. I consider myself very liberal but on age of consent issues this freedom could raise an eyebrow or two. I've never really understood fully the concept of complete personal freedom. Of course here in Australia the age of consent is still 16. In Europe perhaps it's lower?But very nice locations, interesting story, the gentle pace of summer, some sizzling sex scenes and the way the movie pans out in the finish. A very satisfying film that shows a clean pair of heels to most French films that are very good at this genre. Put it this way, Martina's character could have been played by Charlotte Rampling if this was a French movie and Charlotte was about 40 at the time. But this is to take nothing away from Martina's performance.I'll be looking for more work from these main actors. And I wonder how the other Australian reviewer managed to review this movie back in 2006. Especially how or where he got to see the movie or obtain the DVD. Perhaps the Melbourne 2006 Film Festival. Must keep my eye out for any German entries in this in the Jul 2007 one.