The divine Mister Faber

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Movie
German title The divine Mister Faber
Original title Arlen Faber
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 2009
length 95 minutes
Age rating FSK 6
Rod
Director John Hindman
script John Hindman
production Jana Edelbaum
Kevin J. Messick
music Teddy Castellucci
camera Oliver Bokelberg
cut Gerald B. Greenberg
occupation

The Divine Mr. Faber (original title: Arlen Faber , Alternative title: The Answer Man ) is an American love - comedy from 2009. In that of John Hindman written and directed film playing Jeff Daniels and Lauren Graham and Lou Taylor Pucci and Olivia Thirlby starred .

action

Everyone wants to meet Arlen Faber as he is the famous author of the world's best-selling spiritual book, Me and God . However, moody and rotten Arlen just wants to be left alone. He is also keen to keep his identity a secret at all costs. So he's holed up in his house in Philadelphia and pretends to be his own employee when the doorbell rings. However, when he meets the chiropractor Elizabeth, whom he visits on all fours because of an acute herniated disc and unbearable back pain, his reclusive behavior slowly changes. Elizabeth lives alone with her remarkable seven-year-old son, whom she takes oversized care of.

After a postman used a trick to find out who he was bringing sacks of mail to and revealing the address of Arlen to the troubled bookstore owner Kris Lucas, he was faced with a request from Kris to explain selected sentences from the books in his shop, in return don't tell anyone where the famous author lives. Lucas, who has been through rehab, is looking for answers to questions he asks that have so far remained unanswered.

Arlen, who fell in love with Elizabeth the first time she saw it, even befriends her shy son Alex. At first everything seems to be going perfectly. It turns out, however, that it is more difficult for Arlen than he suspected to adjust to Elizabeth and to abandon the solitary behavior that he has acquired over the years of being alone.

After his behavior leads Elizabeth to withdraw from him, Arlen takes the step forward and invites his readers to Lucas' bookstore on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of his success, where he confesses that God did not speak to him, but rather he had to find answers himself that he had asked God for after the death of his father. He does not know whether God is partly responsible for the answers he has written down. After the first step, people show understanding. When Elizabeth, who was also present, runs away, Arlen follows her and confesses that the answer to every question he has ever had is a boy like Alex who has a mother like her. Thereupon both decide to start all over again, because now it might be better. And so it happens.

production

Production notes

It is a production by 120dB Films, Messick Films and iDeal Partners Films Fund. Filming began in Philadelphia on March 23, 2008 and ended in June 2008. Filming locations were in Greensboro and Philadelphia, both in the United States.

publication

The film premiered on January 18, 2009 at the Sundance Film Festival . In April 2009 he was then presented at the Newport Beach International Film Festival, on April 2, 2009 at the Phoenix Film Festival and at the Sonoma International Film Festival and in May 2009 at the Seattle International Film Festival . It was available on video- on- demand in the US on June 26, 2009 and had its television premiere in the US on July 22, 2009. On July 23, 2009, it was shown at the Stony Brooks Film Festival and was shown in selected cinemas from July 24, 2009. It was released in France on December 30, 2009. He was seen on television in Hungary in February 2010. It was published in Portugal in April 2010. It was released on DVD in Sweden and the Netherlands, and it was also released on February 24, 2011 with a German soundtrack in Germany.

It was also published in Argentina, Bulgaria and Russia. The English working title was: The Dream of the Romans .

Soundtrack

criticism

The well-known and not terribly exciting starting point of the story is partly responsible for the fact that the film just doesn't work, despite some nice shots of Philadelphia, according to AO Scott in his New York Times review . There are some interesting ideas and potentially engaging characters, but the film doesn't offer enough to really empathize with the characters. Nothing in the plot is particularly surprising, which would still be okay if the film wasn't tiring overall and its characters had been given more life. Above all, Arlen shows very contradicting behavior, alternating between being wise, obnoxious, fearful or urbane. Even Jeff Daniels, with his skillful dexterity, does not manage to bring it all into line.

The editors of the television magazine Prisma said: “This bittersweet and romantic comedy with tragic inserts and satirical tips is the directorial debut of the US filmmaker John Hindman, which he directed from his own book. Although not always staged cliché-free, Jeff Daniels convinces in the role of the lonely Arlen Faber, who thanks to his beautiful chiropractor (Lauren Graham) finds his way back to life. Lou Taylor Pucci ('Thumbsucker') is also in a good mood as an ex-drug addict looking for the meaning of life. "

For Kino.de the film was a “charming, satirically undermined urban neurotics comedy comedy” in an “artistically ambitious, intellectually ambitious directorial debut by John Hindman, who was previously primarily noticed as an original TV producer”. The film was certified as "well-observed situation comedy in brisk alternation with media satirical allusions".

Awards

  • 2009: Grand Jury Prize nomination for John Hindman at the Sundance Film Festival in the Dramatic category
  • 2010: Casting Society of America nomination for Outstanding Achievement in Casting - Low Budget Feature in the Drama / Comedy category

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ AO Scott : God Helps Those Who Help a Grump In: The New York Times , July 23, 2009 (English). Retrieved December 3, 2017.
  2. ↑ The divine Mister Faber. In: prisma.de . Retrieved December 3, 2017 .
  3. ↑ The divine Mr. Faber adS kino.de (with trailer and film images). Retrieved December 3, 2017.