Based on a true story, it is about an autistic 10-year-old who tries to fit in better at school because he's been threatened with being sent to a Förderschule or special school. He makes a deal with his father: he will do his best not to get enraged when his fellow pupils tease and bully him, so long as he can visit all 56 football teams in Germany to find his favourite team. After all, all the other children at school have a favourite team; if he has one, too, he'll fit in with the others. Right?
Being autistic, though, means he has a lot of rules: the football ground has to be environmentally friendly; the players shouldn't have colourful football boots, the mascot mustn't be stupid; there should be no Nazis.
Now that doesn't sound that exciting does it? Well, it kept a whole row of small boys quiet and engrossed. They were maybe 8 years old (the film is approved for 6-year-olds and up) and very well behaved.
The issue of autism is dealt in quite a sensitive way but the actors were fantastic. Two actors in particular deserve special mention: Florian David Fitz as the father Mirco (quite a famous actor in Germany( and the absolute marvel who played the son Jason. That role was acted by newcomer Cecilio Andresen and this was only his third film (and all filmed in 2023). He reminded me of Nicholas Hoult in About a Boy.
I've been reading interviews given by the real father and son as well as one with Jason and Cecilio and Jason says that the scenes are pretty much authentic - the actions, the tone of voice, everything.
Basically, the film is a little gem and really should be more widely seen. Rush out over the weekend and watch it before it disappears from the cinema screen. The scenes at the various football grounds across Germany deserve to be viewed on a large screen.
I'm so glad I made the effort to walk through the pouring rain to see it. And it's even made me want to go to at least one football match - just to feel what the atmosphere is like at first hand. The film really is an inspiration.
Here's an interview in German with Jason and Cecilio:
And here's the official trailer:
And here is a news report:
The actors on the left; the "real" characters on the right.
This sounds a very original film. I'm glad you enjoyed it.
ReplyDelete