Today I am blond
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | Today I am blond |
 | |
| Country of production | Germany |
| original language | German |
| Publishing year | 2013 |
| length | 117 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 6 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Marc Rothemund |
| script | Katharina Eyssen |
| production |
Andreas Bareiss , Sven Burgemeister |
| music |
Johan Hoogewijs , Mousse T. |
| camera | Martin Langer |
| cut | Simon Gstöttmayr |
| occupation | |
| |
Today I am blonde is a tragic comedy by director Marc Rothemund based on the autobiographical bestseller “Today I am blonde: The girl with the nine wigs” by the Dutchwoman Sophie van der Stap . Lisa Tomaschewsky plays the main role as Sophie, who has breast cancer and declares war on her illness. The film premiered in Hamburg on March 20, 2013 and was shown in German cinemas on March 28, 2013.
action
The fun-loving student Sophie found out at the age of 21 that she had cancer. But she does not let the disease rule her life. She decides to enjoy her existence and live it like she isn't sick, including parties, flirting, and sex. During chemotherapy, she decides to shave her slowly falling hair off and puts on nine wigs that help her live out nine different sides of herself. She roams the clubs with her best friend Annabel, falls in love with her long-time friend Rob and writes on her blog every day . In this way she can at least temporarily escape the dreary and tiring everyday hospital routine and find new courage.
Comparison with the original book
The plot of the film is largely based on the autobiographical model by Sophie van der Stap. However, the film adaptation shows some changes, which are also related to the transfer of the plot to Germany.
- The plot of the film has been moved from Amsterdam to Hamburg, the opening sequence takes place in Antwerp.
- The film is set in 2012, which can be recognized by the calendar, which shows the date "Wednesday, February 29th". In addition, during one of the first examination meetings with Dr. Leonhard Sophie's date of birth, August 14, 1991, can be recognized, which with her statement that she is 21 years old also suggests the year 2012.
- The first names of many important people were taken from the original book. The main character Sophie as well as her sister Saskia and her parents have the surname "Ritter".
- In the novel, Sophie van der Stap does not give her doctors full names, for example, her main doctor is called “Dr. L. ". In the film, the doctors have full surnames, for example, “Dr. L. "to" Dr. Leonhard ".
- Sophie van der Stap's real wigs served as a template for the wigs used in the film; however, their roles have been changed somewhat. For example, “Lydia” only appears briefly in the original, in the film she plays a much larger role. The wig "Oema" (its name alludes to the hairstyle of Uma Thurman in Pulp Fiction ), on the other hand, only appears briefly in the film and is not directly mentioned by this name. The "Bébé" does not appear in the original form in the film, but the wig that Sophie gets for her birthday is similar to the "Bébé". The wig Sophie receives first is called "Stella" in the original and is compared there with a country woman. The hairpiece is not given a name in the film, Sophie compares herself to Playmobil figures when it is worn . "Blondie", "Daisy", "Pam", "Platina" and "Sue" largely correspond to the original.
- In the film, Sophie meets a boy named Emil who also has cancer. His grandmother told him to live a day like ten years. This is likely to be a reference to the French story Oskar and the Lady in Pink . Sophie van der Stap read this work by Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt during her illness and mentions it in her novel.
criticism
“ With her first main role Lisa Tomaschewsky congenially expresses the vulnerability and the youthful intensity of the experience that emanates from the book character. Light and shadow belong together in this story, which is why the recovering Sophie will later sit on the deathbed of her clinic friend Chantal. This film also manages to radiate the power of the story in an unadulterated way and the often heard and incidental clinking of the piano provides imperceptibly gentle consolation. "
“The Dutch author Sophie van der Stap was helped by multiple personalities in overcoming cancer. Because after the therapy took her hair, the student wanted to go on living as before and came up with different personalities for the wigs she got herself. Now the director Marc Rothemund has taken on the story and filmed it with a sensitive, but also cheeky way. The result is a tragic comedy that inspires courage and in which optimism doesn't seem fake for a second! "
“A moving film based on a real fate! The beautiful Sophie defiantly fights against cancer . Your sharpest weapons with you: nine wigs ! Model and actress Lisa Tomaschewsky shaves her head in front of the camera - and not only moves to tears in this scene ... "
“Of course you can surrender yourself completely to this idealism, there is nothing wrong with that. Where else should you do that than in the cinema? And, as I said, 'Today I am blonde' is, from a purely technical point of view, a beautiful film in the truest sense of the word. But you shouldn't close your eyes to the fact that you get to see a filtered and embellished variant of "life" here. "
"Sober and yet cheeky, the film adaptation of the autobiographical novel by Sophie van der Stap joins the young character's challenge to death and pleasantly distances itself from the melodramatic constraints of the genre."
The German Film and Media Assessment FBW in Wiesbaden awarded the film the rating “particularly valuable”.
background
Today I am blonde was filmed in Belgium and Germany. Most of the film was made in Hamburg, including at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf , on the Elbe with the construction site of the Elbphilharmonie as a backdrop. Hamburg is also the home of the main actress Lisa Tomaschewsky . The opening scene of the film takes place in Antwerp .
The tragicomedy is based on the autobiographical bestseller “Today I am blonde: The girl with the nine wigs” by Sophie van der Stap. At that time she fell ill with a rare form of cancer and wrote down her thoughts, feelings and experiences during her chemotherapy, which she later published as a book.
Towards the end of filming, writer Sophie van der Stap visited the set herself and said: “It's very exciting to see your story take shape. And it is very touching that the leading actress Lisa Tomaschewsky has experiences similar to my own - both in film and in real life when she wears one of her wigs. ”Sophie van der Stap makes a brief appearance in the middle of the film: In at the discotheque she meets Sophie Ritter with the Platina wig and says: "Cool wig!"
The production costs of the film amount to 5 million euros.
Soundtrack
The soundtrack was compiled by Mousse T. and released on the Peppermint Jam label. The following tracks are on the soundtrack:
- Leslie Clio - I Couldn't Care Less
- Ferry Ultra - Happy (Mousse T's Clappin Mix) [Feat. Gwen McCrae]
- Mandrax - sliding
- Johan Hoogewijs - Diagnosis
- Florian Tessloff - Sophie & Mama
- Johan Hoogewijs - Time Traveling
- Urban Epic - Changes
- Johan Hoogewijs - Beautiful Sister
- Alev Lenz - Song No 1
- Ferry Ultra - Let Me Do My Thang (dOP Vocal Edit) [Feat. Gwen McCrae]
- Digitalism - Pogo (Digitalism's Pogo Robotic Remix)
- Elliott Smith - Angeles
- Johan Hoogewijs - Baltic Sea
- Mousse T. - By Myself (Feat. Inaya Day)
- Peter Hinderthür - Rob's Done
- Johan Hoogewijs - Letter to the Cause
- Mousse T. & Suzie - All Nite Long (Chicken Lips Remix Edit)
- Florian Tessloff - Sick in Love
- Peter Hinderthür - Chantal
- Urban Epic - On Fire
- Leslie Clio - Just Begun
- Lena Meyer-Landrut - Neon (Lonely People)
Web links
- Official website of the film
- Today I'm blonde in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Today I am blonde in the online film database
- Today I'm blonde at filmportal.de
Individual evidence
- ↑ Release certificate for Today I am blonde . Voluntary self-regulation of the film industry , January 2013 (PDF; test number: 137 075 K).
- ↑ Bianka Piringer: The impressive courage of a young cancer patient. kino-zeit.de, March 21, 2013, accessed on March 25, 2013 .
- ↑ Christoph Petersen: Multiple personalities helped her to overcome her cancer. Film releases , accessed March 25, 2013 .
- ↑ a b Deborah Löffler: Today I'm blonde. A gripping story of fate between fear and hope . In: TV Movie . No. 7 , 2013.
- ↑ Björn Stöckemann: Today I'm blond (2013). filmfutter.com, September 27, 2013, accessed October 14, 2013 .
- ↑ Today I am blonde. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film Service , accessed March 25, 2013 .
- ↑ Today I am blonde. fbw-filmbeval.com, accessed October 14, 2013 .
- ↑ Sophie van der Stap's autobiographical bestseller. moviepilot.de, accessed on March 25, 2013 .
- ↑ Jens Klawonn: Author visits actors on the set. filmkritiker.com, March 25, 2013, accessed March 25, 2013 .
- ↑ Today I am blonde soundtrack. soundtrack.net, archived from the original on September 6, 2015 ; accessed on December 13, 2017 (English).