The flying classroom (2003)

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Movie
Original title The Flying Classroom
Country of production Germany
original language German
Publishing year 2003
length 110 minutes
Age rating FSK 0
JMK 0
Rod
Director Tomy Wigand
script Henriette Piper ,
Hermine Kunka
production Uschi Reich ,
Peter Zenk
music Biber Gullatz ,
Niki Reiser ,
Moritz Freise
camera Peter von Haller
cut Christian Nauheimer
occupation

The flying classroom is a children's film by the German director Tomy Wigand from 2003. It is based freely on the novel of the same name by Erich Kästner .

action

Jonathan is an orphan who was adopted by a captain. He arrives in Leipzig by plane during Advent . There he should be accepted into the St. Thomas' Choir . At the train station he meets a young shoplifter whom he lets escape. She loses her sunglasses, which Jonathan takes with her.

At the boarding school, Jonathan is quickly received in a friendly manner. His roommates have their secret meeting place in an old train carriage. One evening there they meet a man named Bob, called a non-smoker. This man poses as the owner of the property and begins a friendly relationship with the boys.

Jonathan soon learns of the bitter struggle of the Thomaner with the "external" in their classes. The "external" are the non-members of the Thomaner. When Bach's Christmas Oratorio was to be performed in the St. Thomas Church, the "external" stole the notes from the soprano voice and kidnapped the son of the director, Kreuzkamm.

This leads to a snowball fight, which the Thomaner win. Finally they arrive at the oratorio performance with a little delay. When asked by the cantor Justus Bökh, the boys tell the truth. Jupiter doesn't hold this against the boy. As a punishment, the children should now write and perform this year's Christmas game.

Jonathan falls more and more in love with the young shoplifter, who has meanwhile turned out to be Mona, one of the "external ones". He gives her back her sunglasses. She is the only one who invites him to her 12th birthday, which they spend in the old carriage. There the boys come across an old play that they really like: The flying classroom . They decide to perform it as rap and bring Mona into their team as a ballet dancer. This approach corresponds to a revolution because girls are actually not allowed to participate.

Justus finally checks the preparations for the “flying classroom”. The play sounds familiar to him and he forbids it. Jonathan finally accuses him of pretending to be a friend of the boys. Angry, Jonathan kicks one of the scenes, whereupon a fire breaks out.

The boys plan to cover for Jonathan. The boys and his girlfriend Kathrin, the dance teacher at the school, urged Justus to explain why he had banned the piece. After all, he's telling the truth. He himself wrote the play with his friend Robert at the end of the 1970s, but did not perform it because Robert fled to the West, which brought Justus not only pain but also a reprimand from school. The Stasi assumed that he had known about the escape and found out about the “flying classroom”. He had to drop out of high school and began training as a car mechanic. In a conversation with Justus, Jonathan reveals that he started the fire.

The boys realize that Robert is the non-smoker. You bring the two together and they make up again.

Little Uli von Simmern, one of Jonathan's roommates, is often teased and called a coward because of his size. His best friend Matz incites him to do something about his reputation as a coward. Uli then announced to the whole school that he was going to do something special. A few days later, Uli finally pushes himself off the roof, hanging from two helium- filled balloons. He falls down and falls unconscious. The boys, especially Matz, are worried that Uli might be dead. But finally, Justus brings the reassuring news that Uli only broke his leg.

Justus' position as a teacher is in jeopardy, so the boys decide to put on another performance after all, classroom rap, without a backdrop. With this they can convince the parents and the board of trustees and Justus stays at the school as a teacher.

History of origin

After Pünktchen and Anton and Emil and the detectives, the flying classroom is the third remake of a Kästner novel in a row. It was commissioned by producers Uschi Reich and Peter Zenk , again in collaboration with ZDF . Filming began on February 4, 2002. Before that, the casting director, in collaboration with the Berlin youth casting agency Rietz, had more than 1,000 children auditioned. The film was shot in Leipzig, Munich (indoor shots only) and in the buildings of the Pforta State School . In Leipzig there was cooperation with the St. Thomas Choir .

particularities

In the film, the circumstances of the novel The Flying Classroom were adapted to modern times. Topics such as unemployment and divorce were included. The integration of the history of persecution in the GDR is also new . In addition, the gang leader Egerland became the girl Mona in the film, and the secondary school students were replaced as enemies by the "external".

Opinions on the remake are divided. Some see it as a legitimate revision of the Kästner novel that addresses the needs of today's generation of children. Others find the original idea and intention too obscured by innovations, so that these are almost no longer recognizable. Many characters have lost their actual character, which in some cases decisively influences and changes the story.

In total, the novel was filmed three times. The earlier films are from 1954 and 1973 and reflect the respective time relationships.

Soundtrack

The flying classroom , a play in the novel, is a rap in the film that the boys write themselves. The classroom-Rap was a part of modernization and was also elected as a musical means because the lyrics were easy Kästners rap. It was composed by Biber Gullatz and Moritz Freise , the rest of the film music is by Niki Reiser .

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Release certificate for the flying classroom . Voluntary self-regulation of the film industry , March 2003 (PDF; test number: 92 376 V / DVD).
  2. ↑ Age rating for The Flying Classroom . Youth Media Commission .