Adapted from the story by the noted German author Erich Kastner (1899 – 1974), author of such novels as Emil and the Detectives and Das doppelte Lottchen (from which The Parent Trap is adapted).

Anton, a sensitive boy whose waitress mother is seriously ill, becomes fast friends with Annaluise, a feisty, resourceful ten-year-old neglected by her career-minded technocrat parents. This 1998 German feature updates Erich Kastner’s classic children’s novel from the 30s; director Caroline Link (Beyond Silence) preserves its contrasts in class behavior and parental accountability and punches up the emotional highs and lows the children experience through the adults’ approval and rejection. In the end, however, Annaluise and Anton teach their elders a thing or two about altruism, a closure achieved with impeccable logic and appeal.

Print source: Bavaria Films, Germany

Suitable for ages 9 – 15

Director: Caroline Linke
Germany, 1999
German language
English subtitles
Colour
Dolby Digital
114mins.

In 1998 Caroline Linke’s film Das Versprechen (Beyond Silence) was selected by fiieducation – the film education department of the Film Institute of Ireland – and the Department of Education and Science as the German language film for schools and was shown intensively around Ireland. A study guide for the film was prepared and published by fiieducation to accompany these screenings.