"Mein Altweibersommer" or "My Indian Summer" is a German television film from this year, 2020, and actually premiered less than two weeks ago, so still very recent, very fresh. Well, not really fresh, more like rotten despite how new it is. But I will get to that later on. It runs for 1.5 hours and the director was Dustin Loose, a bit of an up-and-comer, especially when it comes to German television, still in his mid30s. The writer, however, is Beate Langmaack and she is 30 years older than Dustin, been in the industry siince the 1980s, pretty much worked on films already when Loose was a toddler. And her body of work is not excruciatingly bad, so you'd expect a decent amount of talent and creativity from somebody that long in the industry. Well, be disappointed because these almost 90 minutes has proven with her work and screenplay here that there is probably not even a single talented bone in her body. Shocking stuff really. I mean I did not expect a good, let alone great, film here, but I sure did not think it would turn out this horribly wrong. The inclusion of lead actress Iris Berben is a safe indicator still. Yes, she is this bad. There is nothing positive I can say about her. Not one bit. She will deal with it. After all, she has been having a pretty spectacular career playing mostly lead characters for decades and all this although she is probably even less talented than the writer. When people talk about Berben, they frequently see her as a bit of an icon, if not even a legend, when it comes to German film. And all this despite her big screen career being basically not existent. I personally think that she keeps playing the exact same character (just with different character names) in pretty much every film she is in. Why does she do that? Because she has no range. Because she has no versatility. Because she has no talent. Although filmmakers and most of all Berben herself want you to think the opposite is true. That she is a bright light who shines in every film she is in and also (of course!) makes powerful statements when it comes to gender equality. It is just completely embarrassing. If we go strictly by talent, this woman never would have been in film for over a year. And yet there she is, being the President of the German Film Academy for a while even I think. Well, this film happened basically at the exact same time like her 70th birthday that was all over the media a few days ago and fittingly you can read in the title here too that age also plays a role. Well, to some extent at least. Of course Berben's character is nothing but the "altes Weib" (old broad) we are supposed to believe here, even if I know this is just a term for a certain time of the year. But it is no coincidence by any definition they picked this title. More on Berben later. It is sad to see talented actors like Bock and (my personal favorite) Brambach wasted next to Berben. This film shall never be about anybody else but her.
Now I will mention a few scenes and moments during which the film was almost unwatchable. It starts with the very first sequence already. Berben (in her late 60s, let's not forget that) is pregnant and gives birth. To a bear cub. Obviously a dream sequence, but the (not so subtle) key message of it all is that just like young women aged 45 max Berben can also still give birth (or her characters can, I should say) because she is much younger at heart and biologically than her numeric age. Which is not untrue. She looks alright for a 70-year-old, but the way it is constantly shoved into our faces is just disgusting. By the way, the meaningful metaphor and parallel between this dream sequence and her job later on in a bear costume is extremely clumsy and that is still a nice way to put it. The harsh way would be this parallel alone implies that the writer has zero creative talent. As for our young heroine, she is asked by 25-year-olds if she wants to play volleyball at the beach. Of course! She shows us how kids open a beer bottle. She of course also has a very honorable job making sure that comatose patients get the best food they can. And most of all, she has constantly younger men drooling over her. Be it her husband who is also five years younger than her (well the actor), be it the Danish fella and how he woos her or be it a creepy old dude running past her. Or be it the guy tickling her with the feather at the end. No romantic interest implied there, but he could have woken her up differently and not like a queen too. And of course, she is not only a successful businesswoman, but also a mother and also knows how to fight. Verbally and physically when she is attacked by that drunk fella inside the circus tent. There is so much wrong with this film. But the number one most cringeworthy scene is probably when we are inside the car and the Danish guy asks her something like what it is like to always be the most attractive woman in the room. That was bad enough already.. I felt kinda sorry for the actor (of course also way younger than Berben), but then again nobody forced him to accept the role. However, as if that quote was not gooey enough already, Berben responds by wildly rambling about what if she does not ant to be stunning, does not care, but cares much more about philosophical questions. Unreal stuff really. Also, by the way, she holds a chicken in her hands that exact moment, so yeah, she is also one who is not scared of getting her hands dirty. That big chicken was honestly the only somewhat decent thing about the movie. Really cute. Luckily it had no idea what kind of mess it would become a part of. Oh yeah, eventually it is of course also Berben who abruptly ends the relationship with Mygind's character and he is heartbroken and angry. Because he can't have a woman 15 years older than him. But still Berben's character is too likable for him to be really mad at her and he leaves her the bear costume. By the way, when she dances earlier with these kids and maybe mildly disabled people, this shows us how she has her heart at the right place too obviously.
Of course, this is also another ARD Degeto production which means that you don't have to search long for anti-male propaganda. The best example is her marriage really. While degeto has presented us male characters asthe worst kind of scum because they constantly cheat on their female partners, here Berben's character is the cheater. But hey, it is her Indian Summer, don't blame her. Bock's character should be glad eventually that his amazing, beautiful and wonderfully mesmerizing wife is merciful enough to go back to him. Errr. to take him back I mean. Who cares she cheated on him. Who cares he stood in the kitchen when listening to her lies. Who cares he came up with this romantic idea that resulted into nothing. After all, he did not offer his goddess of a wife a life and background and apartment like Brambach's boastful character did to his partner. So Bock's character'd better be glad and grateful that a woman like Berben('s character) even stays with him after having sex for a few days with another guy. By the way the circus director's transformation into a less likable character also came out of nowhere really and felt fake. Like almost everything else about this film, like when they talk about the stars and Berben's character of course knows immediately what she is seeing. Frau von Welt" as we say here in Germany. Difficult to translate, maybe "very distinguished woman" fits it nicely. The good news is that the ending is in a way where it is almost impossible to come up with a sequel at some point. Pretty glad about that indeed. Only thing they could maybe do was elaborate a bit on the daughter who we only see via webcam here. But she is stunning. Or the actress is I should say. Okay, I don't knnow what else to say about this film. I thought it was truly abysmal. Berben walking around, not talking a lot, but being her usual "admirable" self. Oh yes, there is one scene that showed us this in particular, namely when a female friend and her talk and the friend says something how she admires her and how she always seems to be in control and at peace with herself etc. Unreal really, so manipulative this movie and not even hidden. They are just shoving it constantly into our faces how amazing Berben errrrr. Berben's character is. Literally vomit-inducing. Just like her reaction that the friend is exaggerating. Lady is not just a legend, but also super humble obviously. I don't give 1 star out of 10, but if I did, then this movie would certainly get it. An absolute contender for worst film of 2020 and with that I do ot mean just German movie, but the entire globe. A ttrue stinker. Highly not recommended and one can only hope Berben retires soon because she never plays supporting characters, which means she ruins every film she is in at its very core. I am also pretty sure the screenplay here was written when they knew she will play the main character. Still I am 100% convinced that not even the most gifted actress could have made this character (and film consequently) work. Stay far, far away. Or maybe I should actually say that people should watch it to see how Berben is really absolutely free of any talent because hardly anybody sees said absence, even if it has been as visible as it gets for decades. Sigh.
Now I will mention a few scenes and moments during which the film was almost unwatchable. It starts with the very first sequence already. Berben (in her late 60s, let's not forget that) is pregnant and gives birth. To a bear cub. Obviously a dream sequence, but the (not so subtle) key message of it all is that just like young women aged 45 max Berben can also still give birth (or her characters can, I should say) because she is much younger at heart and biologically than her numeric age. Which is not untrue. She looks alright for a 70-year-old, but the way it is constantly shoved into our faces is just disgusting. By the way, the meaningful metaphor and parallel between this dream sequence and her job later on in a bear costume is extremely clumsy and that is still a nice way to put it. The harsh way would be this parallel alone implies that the writer has zero creative talent. As for our young heroine, she is asked by 25-year-olds if she wants to play volleyball at the beach. Of course! She shows us how kids open a beer bottle. She of course also has a very honorable job making sure that comatose patients get the best food they can. And most of all, she has constantly younger men drooling over her. Be it her husband who is also five years younger than her (well the actor), be it the Danish fella and how he woos her or be it a creepy old dude running past her. Or be it the guy tickling her with the feather at the end. No romantic interest implied there, but he could have woken her up differently and not like a queen too. And of course, she is not only a successful businesswoman, but also a mother and also knows how to fight. Verbally and physically when she is attacked by that drunk fella inside the circus tent. There is so much wrong with this film. But the number one most cringeworthy scene is probably when we are inside the car and the Danish guy asks her something like what it is like to always be the most attractive woman in the room. That was bad enough already.. I felt kinda sorry for the actor (of course also way younger than Berben), but then again nobody forced him to accept the role. However, as if that quote was not gooey enough already, Berben responds by wildly rambling about what if she does not ant to be stunning, does not care, but cares much more about philosophical questions. Unreal stuff really. Also, by the way, she holds a chicken in her hands that exact moment, so yeah, she is also one who is not scared of getting her hands dirty. That big chicken was honestly the only somewhat decent thing about the movie. Really cute. Luckily it had no idea what kind of mess it would become a part of. Oh yeah, eventually it is of course also Berben who abruptly ends the relationship with Mygind's character and he is heartbroken and angry. Because he can't have a woman 15 years older than him. But still Berben's character is too likable for him to be really mad at her and he leaves her the bear costume. By the way, when she dances earlier with these kids and maybe mildly disabled people, this shows us how she has her heart at the right place too obviously.
Of course, this is also another ARD Degeto production which means that you don't have to search long for anti-male propaganda. The best example is her marriage really. While degeto has presented us male characters asthe worst kind of scum because they constantly cheat on their female partners, here Berben's character is the cheater. But hey, it is her Indian Summer, don't blame her. Bock's character should be glad eventually that his amazing, beautiful and wonderfully mesmerizing wife is merciful enough to go back to him. Errr. to take him back I mean. Who cares she cheated on him. Who cares he stood in the kitchen when listening to her lies. Who cares he came up with this romantic idea that resulted into nothing. After all, he did not offer his goddess of a wife a life and background and apartment like Brambach's boastful character did to his partner. So Bock's character'd better be glad and grateful that a woman like Berben('s character) even stays with him after having sex for a few days with another guy. By the way the circus director's transformation into a less likable character also came out of nowhere really and felt fake. Like almost everything else about this film, like when they talk about the stars and Berben's character of course knows immediately what she is seeing. Frau von Welt" as we say here in Germany. Difficult to translate, maybe "very distinguished woman" fits it nicely. The good news is that the ending is in a way where it is almost impossible to come up with a sequel at some point. Pretty glad about that indeed. Only thing they could maybe do was elaborate a bit on the daughter who we only see via webcam here. But she is stunning. Or the actress is I should say. Okay, I don't knnow what else to say about this film. I thought it was truly abysmal. Berben walking around, not talking a lot, but being her usual "admirable" self. Oh yes, there is one scene that showed us this in particular, namely when a female friend and her talk and the friend says something how she admires her and how she always seems to be in control and at peace with herself etc. Unreal really, so manipulative this movie and not even hidden. They are just shoving it constantly into our faces how amazing Berben errrrr. Berben's character is. Literally vomit-inducing. Just like her reaction that the friend is exaggerating. Lady is not just a legend, but also super humble obviously. I don't give 1 star out of 10, but if I did, then this movie would certainly get it. An absolute contender for worst film of 2020 and with that I do ot mean just German movie, but the entire globe. A ttrue stinker. Highly not recommended and one can only hope Berben retires soon because she never plays supporting characters, which means she ruins every film she is in at its very core. I am also pretty sure the screenplay here was written when they knew she will play the main character. Still I am 100% convinced that not even the most gifted actress could have made this character (and film consequently) work. Stay far, far away. Or maybe I should actually say that people should watch it to see how Berben is really absolutely free of any talent because hardly anybody sees said absence, even if it has been as visible as it gets for decades. Sigh.
