Santa Claus is called Willi

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Movie
Original title Santa Claus is called Willi
Santa Claus is called Willi Logo 001.svg
Country of production GDR
original language German
Publishing year 1969
length 66 minutes
Age rating FSK o. A.
Rod
Director Ingrid Reschke
script Ota Hofman
production DEFA , KAG "Youth and Children's Films"
music Rudi Werion
camera Jürgen Brauer
cut Erika Lehmphul
occupation

Santa Claus is called Willi is a German children's film by DEFA by Ingrid Reschke from 1969.

action

Five-year-old Peter and his older brother Hans are on their way to their parents with their presents on Christmas Day. While Hans wants to give a small table, Peter has got two cacti . When you quickly cross the street, tables and cacti fall from the sled and are run over by the cars. Peter bursts into tears and both boys are now trying to get a Christmas present with the little remaining money. However, the department store closes soon and neither have any luck at the shooting gallery of the fair. When the hype is also empty, Hans buys a ticket at a ticket booth - and wins the main prize, a washing machine. Hans and a teenager fetch a hand truck for the machine and Peter is supposed to watch out for the profit.

While Peter is waiting, a man in a Santa suit appears, introduces himself as Willi, gives Peter a piece of candy and finally disappears with the washing machine. Peter good-naturedly believes that Santa Claus will give the machine to them at home, but Hans is appalled that their present has been stolen. Together with the youth and his friends, they pursue Willis. He told Peter that he still has to work in the circus and so the first way leads to the circus. In fact, Willi gives gifts to the artists there, but flees from the children on a horse and is now also hunted by the artists. Little Peter chases Willis separately with the clown Ferdinand .

Willi succeeds in taking off the pursuers and picking up the washing machine hidden in the train station (Leipzig Hbf). He stows them in a taxi and wants to go home, but is discovered by the clown Ferdinand and is now being followed by him. Soon the radio searches for the taxi and Willi has himself dropped off early with the washing machine. When he wants to leave the machine behind, it is carried after him by residents because nobody in the house wanted a washing machine. Willi is also friendly towards other people and the children keep telling him their wishes. When Willi finally took refuge in a restaurant, clown Ferdinand found him. He speaks to his conscience that 5-year-old Peter still believes in Santa Claus and such a disappointment as Willi's wrongdoing could harm the whole future development of the little boy.

Willi's pursuers have given up and are driving the boys home. The washing machine is there and Peter and Hans' parents are very happy. Willi and clown Ferdinand watch the scene and wink at each other.

production

After Daniel and the world champion (1963), Santa Claus is called Willi was director Ingrid Reschke's second children's film. It was also one of the few DEFA children's films from the late 1960s for children under ten.

The film had its premiere on November 30, 1969 in the Berlin cosmos . The film was released as a video on September 29, 1998 and was released in 2005 with two other films ( Die Christmas Goose Auguste and The Magic Lantern ) on the DVD Christmas for the whole family on Icestorm. On September 20, 2016, Icestorm again released a DVD box containing Santa Claus is Willi and two other films ( Oh you Merry ... and How the old ones sung ... ). Both DVD releases contain the films in their original 4: 3 aspect ratio.

criticism

The contemporary critics praised the fact that the film "in a very happy way (namely without being ostensibly instructive) gives free rein to the child's imagination and also reveals the characteristics of socialist society, such as love for children, helpfulness, solidarity." Other critics found that in view of the ending, the long chase in the film became pointless. The inconclusive narrative style also makes it difficult for the children to develop their own attitude towards what is happening.

For the lexicon of international films , A Santa Claus was for Willi a "lovingly staged and straightforwardly narrated children's film in the tradition of Kästner's Emil and the Detectives , which loosens up its somewhat thick message of a social sense of community with child-friendly humor and tension."

Trivia

The role of Ramona is embodied in the film by Gabriele Reach (today: Gabriele Tiefensee), the meanwhile (as of 2020) divorced wife of the former Federal Minister of Transport. D. Wolfgang Tiefensee .

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Herbert König in: Volksstimme , January 17, 1970.
  2. ↑ Karla Anders: Unsentimental Festgabe . In: Filmspiegel , No. 1, 1970, S: 8.
  3. ↑ Santa's name is Willi. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed August 7, 2018 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used