IN HAMBURG
© X Verleih
Wanda , Mein Wunder ( My Wonderful Wanda ) *** Switzerland 2020 Opening January 13 , 2022
Director : Bettina Oberli Writing credits : Cooky Ziesche , Bettina Oberli Principal actors : Agnieszka Grochowska , Marthe Keller , André Jung , Birgit Minichmayr , Jacob Matschenz , Anatole Taubman
Wanda ( Agnieszka Grochowska ) is the caregiver of Josef ( André Jung ), who must keep to his bed . She is 35 years old and comes from Poland , where she has left her two small sons , Tomasz ( Bruno Rajski ) and Jakub ( Iwo Rajski ), in the care of her own parents . In Switzerland , she lives in the basement of a big family house , along with Joseph ’ s wife , Elsa ( Marthe Keller ), and their grown son , Gregi ( Jacob Matschenz ). Their daughter , Sophie ( Birgit Minichmayr ), visits with her husband , Manfred ( Anatole Taubman ). Eventually , the cleaning lady quits ; Wanda is persuaded to take over these additional responsibilities for a higher salary , making her even more essential to the family . AND Joseph secretly pays her well to sleep with him — all just income for the good of the Polish family . Naturally , this is soon revealed and Elsa , accompanied by Gregi and Sophie , demand an explanation . The situation explodes , and Wanda returns to Poland , and life continues as before . But does it ? She is pregnant , and Joseph is the father , although Elsa had convinced him that he couldn ’ t have more children .
My Wonderful Wanda presents excellent possibilities to sort through problems from different aspects . Joseph is proud to know that he can still “ do ” it . Elsa is considering divorce . Perhaps Sophie and Manfred should be the parents . How about Gregi ? Will Wanda give up the child ? How about € 100,000 to take over the new baby ( who is soon born )? But they are Catholic and , anyway , “ the Poles only want our money .” Filmed on the shores of a beautiful lake , the participants sit on the shore or on a boat . Gregi , designated to become the head of the family company , loves to observe birds , and can copy each bird ’ s song perfectly . Joseph celebrates his seventieth birthday with many guests and gradually leaves his bed to become more independent . Son-in-law Manfred thinks he knows all the answers . Wanda ’ s family arrives , unexpectedly , with its own opinions , reviving the conflict , which was supposedly already solved . And then there is the cow .
This is not a film for short-term entertainment , but one to think about , discuss , and consider in light of one ’ s own solutions to problems . The film is divided into three parts , each beginning with Wanda getting off the bus from Poland ; it ends with a short epilogue . My Wonderful Wanda was filmed in Warsaw , Poland , and Stäfa and Horgen in Switzerland . It played in eight film festivals , including the 2020 Tribeca Film Festival . It opened the 2020 Zurich Film Festival . It was nominated for thirteen prizes and won four . ( Becky Tan )
Sir Kenneth Branagh was born in Belfast , Northern Ireland , in 1960 , and spent the first nine years of his life there . This semi-autobiographical movie is his most personal project to date , made for those who stayed , those who left , and those who were lost in the tumultuous times of the Northern Ireland conflict . The story is set in August 1969 , in a typical working class neighborhood , where , until then , Catholics and Protestants had lived together peacefully . Nine-yearold Buddy ( introducing 10-year-old Jude Hill ) grows up going to movies , collecting matchbox cars , and falling in love for the first time with his classmate . His father ( Jamie Dornan ) is away often , working as a joiner in England , so that Buddy is very close to his mother ( Caitríona Balfe ) and his loving grandparents ( Dame Judi Dench and Ciarán Hinds ). When violence erupts in this previously harmonious neighborhood , with Catholic shops being attacked and looted , the Protestant family is threatened with harm if they do not take sides and participate in the violence , Buddy ’ s parents begin to talk about leaving Belfast . That means leaving the ailing grandfather and the devoted grandmother , but most of all , their home .
Whilst the movie is filmed in black and white , to stress the seriousness of the conflict , and all performances are superb , everything seems a little bit too smooth on the surface , not grimy and dark enough . The mother is too well coiffed , the father too cleanly shaven , everything looks a bit too neat . The music , mostly by Van Morrison , who is also a native of Belfast , changes to the theme song from High Noon (“ Do Not Forsake Me ”) in some critical scenes . However , all this is forgiven , because it is obvious that Kenneth Branagh ’ s work is a labor of love and a tribute to his Northern Irish heritage . ( Ulrike Lemke )
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