Gilbert Grape - Somewhere in Iowa
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Gilbert Grape - Somewhere in Iowa |
| Original title | What's Eating Gilbert Grape |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1993 |
| length | 118 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 6 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Let Hallström |
| script | Peter Hedges |
| production |
David Matalon Bertil Ohlsson Meir Teper |
| music |
Bjorn Isfalt Alan Parker Joseph S. DeBeasi |
| camera | Sven Nykvist |
| cut | Andrew Mondshein |
| occupation | |
| |
Gilbert Grape - Somewhere in Iowa is an American film directed by Lasse Hallström from 1993 based on a novel by Peter Hedges . The tragic comedy describes a phase in the life of the title hero, whose stressful everyday family life is upset when he meets young Becky. Gilbert begins to question the conditions he has come to terms with up to this point. Johnny Depp , Leonardo DiCaprio and Juliette Lewis play the leading roles . In this film, Lasse Hallström unites the virtues of European with American film qualities. Macabre irony and bizarre ideas run through the film, but the focus is on sympathy with the protagonists. Despite the German title Somewhere in Iowa , the filming locations were exclusively in Texas .
action
The film is set in the fictional small town of Endora in Iowa , which offers its few inhabitants little attractiveness and little variety. The annual highlight is a caravan caravan that crosses the area in the summer months.
Gilbert Grape is his family's surrogate father following his father's suicide. This includes the mentally unstable mother Bonnie, who, with a weight of 250 kg, is no longer capable of physical work and has not left the house since the death of her husband, the older sister and surrogate mother Amy, the pubescent sister Ellen and the mentally disabled brother Arnie. The family lives in a ramshackle country house, the foundation of which has elementary defects. Gilbert's duties include maintaining the house and supervising Arnie and his regular bathing ritual. Gilbert's own interests play a minor role. He has an undemanding job in a grocery store and has an affair with Betty Carver, who is a few years older than him. Gilbert's only friends are undertaker Bobby McBurney and takeaway owner Tucker van Dyke.
Arnie demands Gilbert's constant attention. The disabled young person prefers to climb the water tower and is constantly exposed to dangers in everyday situations. His carefree verve often lets him go overboard and demands the patience of all family members to a considerable extent. On the occasion of his long-awaited 18th birthday, the family is planning a big party for him.
As part of the annual caravan caravan, young Becky and her grandmother are forced to interrupt their journey for a few days after a car breaks down in Endora. Gilbert falls in love with the uncomplicated woman, but then realizes that a relationship with her is only possible if he puts his own wishes more in the foreground and questions his previous life. Becky's wish to get to know his mother is blocked several times. When Arnie climbs the water tower again in an unobserved moment, the police take him into custody. Now his mother feels compelled to go public again for the first time in years and to demand the release of her son at the police station. Gilbert is ashamed of his obese mother, who catches the eye of the gawking passers-by. Bonnie is also uncomfortably touched by the mockery of the onlookers.
Because of the prospect of an evening with Becky, Gilbert seriously neglects his duties for the first time. He leaves his disabled brother to himself in the bathroom and finds him freezing in the bathtub the next morning. On the evening before Arnie's 18th birthday, the situation comes to a head when the overwhelmed Gilbert hits him several times in the face after his repeated misconduct, causing him to even bleed. Horrified by his behavior, Gilbert rushes out of the house in the dark and drives off in his van, Arnie flees to Becky and her grandmother. The young woman manages to calm him down and hand him over to his sisters, who have traveled the area in search of him. Gilbert, who is secretly observing the scene, is discovered by Becky and spends the night with her; he returns home on Arnie's birthday and makes up with him. In a serious conversation, the mother criticizes Gilbert's act and his escape. At the same time, she tells him that she had been aware of her burden on the children over the years and never wanted to be seen as a joke. Gilbert introduces his girlfriend Becky to his mother.
On the evening of the birthday, the mother decides to spend the night in her own bed on the upper floor again and not, as in all those years, sitting on the sofa in the living room. With the greatest effort and completely out of breath, she drags herself up the stairs and demands to see her son Arnie again before going to sleep. But when Arnie arrives, she is already dead. In order not to expose her to ridicule (e.g. the body would have to be hoisted out of the house with a crane), Gilbert makes the decision not to leave his mother's body to anyone outside. Together with his siblings, he clears the furniture out of the house and sets fire to the dilapidated building, which is ablaze.
The film ends the following year when Gilbert and Arnie wait again for the caravan shortly before his 19th birthday and finally drive away with Becky and her grandmother.
synchronization
The German-language version was created in the studios of Berliner Synchron GmbH Wenzel Lüdecke . The dialogue book was written by Alexander Löwe and the dialogue was directed by Clemens Frohmann. David Nathan , who has been the German voice of Johnny Depp since Don Juan DeMarco (1995), dubbed Leonardo DiCaprio as the mentally handicapped Arnie Grape in this production. The German theater, film and television actor Gunnar Helm took on the role of Depp .
| role | actor | Voice actor |
|---|---|---|
| Gilbert Grape | Johnny Depp | Gunnar Helm |
| Arnie Grape | Leonardo DiCaprio | David Nathan |
| Becky | Juliette Lewis | Irina von Bentheim |
| Bonnie Grape | Darlene Cates | Marianne Gross |
| Amy Grape | Laura Harrington | Maud Ackermann |
| Ellen Grape | Mary Kate Schellhardt | Ranja Bonalana |
| Betty Carver | Mary Steenburgen | Anita Lochner |
| Ken Carver | Kevin Tighe | Uwe Paulsen |
| Tucker van Dyke | John C. Reilly | Rainer Doering |
| Bobby McBurney | Crispin Glover | Matthias Klages |
reception
Reviews
| source | rating |
|---|---|
| Rotten tomatoes | |
| critic |
 
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| audience |
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| IMDb |
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"The film, which is excellently cast right down to the supporting roles and played hauntedly, achieves spiritual qualities through its human attitude."
“Gilbert Grape is a quiet, unobtrusive film. Swedish director Lasse Hallström lets life 'in the middle of nowhere' ripple in front of him in calm images. His characters are believable, lovable characters - above all the convincing discovery Leonardo DiCaprio, who was nominated for an Oscar. "
"Sensitive and humorous staged portrait of American small-town life and a touching plea for the 'normal' way of dealing with the disabled and their integration into the community."
Awards
Leonardo DiCaprio was nominated for an Oscar and a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor , and received an award from the Chicago Film Critics for Most Promising Actor and the National Board of Review award .
In Germany, the film was awarded the title of best foreign film by the Gilde deutscher Filmkunsttheater .
The German Film and Media Assessment FBW in Wiesbaden awarded the film the rating particularly valuable.
Gross profit
The film grossed around 10 million US dollars in North America.
Web links
- Gilbert Grape - Somewhere in Iowa at the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Gilbert Grape - Somewhere in Iowa in the online movie database
- Gilbert Grape - Somewhere in Iowa at Rotten Tomatoes (English)
- Gilbert Grape - Somewhere in Iowa in the Lexicon of International Film
Individual evidence
- ^ What's eating Gilbert Grape? In: Dieter Krusche (Ed.): Reclams Filmführer. 13th, revised edition. Reclam, Stuttgart 2008, ISBN 978-3-15-010676-1 , pp. 778f.
- ↑ pflugervilletx.gov: Film Friendly Pflugerville ( Memento of the original from December 28, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Gilbert Grape - Somewhere in Iowa. In: synchronkartei.de. German synchronous index , accessed on November 21, 2017 .
- ↑ a b Gilbert Grape - Somewhere in Iowa from Rotten Tomatoes , accessed December 8, 2014
- ↑ Gilbert Grape - Somewhere in Iowa at the Internet Movie Database (English)
- ^ What's Eating Gilbert Grape. Retrieved May 15, 2020 .
