Climbing Ida
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Climbing Ida |
| Original title | Klatretøsen |
| Country of production | Denmark |
| original language | Danish |
| Publishing year | 2002 |
| length | 90 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 6 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Hans Fabian Wullenweber |
| script |
Nikolaj Arcel , Erlend Loe , Hans Fabian Wullenweber |
| production |
Bo Christensen , Bo Ehrhardt , Lottie Terp Jakobsen |
| music |
Magnus Dahlberg , Thomas Troelsen , Bjørn Vidø |
| camera | Jacob Kusk |
| cut |
Miriam Nørgaard , Mikkel EG Nielsen |
| occupation | |
| |
Kletter-Ida is a Danish children's and youth film from 2002 . This film tells the story of several children who rob a bank.
At first sight, Kletter-Ida is an action film. Behind this, however, there is a differentiated personality development of the main characters who are in a serious dilemma .
In 2004, due to the great success with Mission: Possible - These kids are unbelievable! an American remake that tells the same story.
action
Twelve year old Ida Johansen is a passionate climber . She is about to climb an old water tower when her father calls on her cell phone. He says he has a headache and asks Ida to replace him on the go-kart track .
Two of Ida's friends are currently there. Sebastian Klausen works as a mechanic on the kart track during the summer holidays. However, his older brother Johnny annoys him there. Jonas Balgaard, another friend of Ida, is currently sending a video message to his parents, who are on the road as aircraft captains and are therefore rarely at home.
When Ida speaks to her father, she immediately notices that something is wrong with him. However, nothing can be seen from this. Instead, he argues with Ida when he learns that she has gone climbing. He himself had survived a 30 meter fall on Mount Everest , which is why he believes this sport is too dangerous for Ida. But she is not convinced by her father's arguments.
Sebastian notices that Jonas was secretly filming Ida with his video camera. The two boys argue about who Ida could fall in love with. Sebastian is convinced that only he has a chance because women like energetic types. Jonas, on the other hand, is rather reserved. When Ida's mother comes by, both boys invite themselves to dinner at the Johansen's.
While the father is preparing the meal, Ida and her mother have a difference of opinion. Ida is supposed to take care of her two-year-old brother William, but she would rather go her own way. There is a TV report about CCT-Bank, supposedly the safest bank in Denmark. The security system of the Bank Ida's mother developed. Since the installation is not yet complete, guard dogs take on an additional security function. You also learn that a company party is to take place for the inauguration of the new CCT building. Ida's mother hopes to get a permanent job at this bank. The Johansens' financial situation is not the best as the go-kart track does not make a lot of profit.
Suddenly Ida's father collapses in the kitchen and is paralyzed. In the hospital one is as a diagnostic Guillain-Barre syndrome detected. The nerve tracts on the spinal cord are severed and no longer send commands. According to the doctors, this is probably a long-term consequence of his crash on Mount Everest. The disease also affects the blood supply to the brain. Ida stands there in disbelief and watches the situation helplessly.
Ida's mother asks about treatment options. Only one private clinic in Seattle offers surgery. Since the surgical method is still in the experimental stage, the Danish health insurance does not cover the costs of the operation. This would cost around 1.5 million Danish kroner (around € 200,000). Ida's mother assures her husband that she will raise the money.
Ida discusses the situation with her friends Sebastian and Jonas. She breaks down in tears. The attempt by Ida's mother to obtain a loan from a bank is unsuccessful. Ida noticed this and then visits her father in the hospital. She tells him that she will get the money.
Finally Ida comes up with the idea of robbing the CCT bank . She presents the plan to her friends. At first they are not enthusiastic about it. But Ida can convince her to take part, because after all, the break-in is about saving the life of Ida's father.
Ida distributes the tasks for preparing the coup to Jonas and Sebastian. Ida goes to the bank with her mother to find out as much as possible about the security system. In doing so, she discovers that Sebastian's brother Johnny is doing an internship with the security service at the CCT bank . Johnny's manager is the security guard Henrik. He bullies Johnny because he expects the best performance from every security guard.
Ida learns from her mother how the cameras work and that the security system is protected by a master password . But Ida's mother does not reveal this. The bank director becomes aware of Ida. Since he is sorry for Ida's father, he shows her around while Ida's mother is busy with other things. This is how Ida learns the password from the bank manager, but it does not work with Bank safe . She also finds out that all surveillance cameras can be controlled from the director's office. She also learns that the guard dogs will not be allowed out during the company party.
Of all people, shy Jonas has to go to the dog trainer who trained the watchdogs. There he finds out how he can control the dogs with an energetic demeanor. Sebastian, on the other hand, was given the task of getting a floor plan for the bank. He pretends to need it for homework. When he did not initially receive the floor plan, he told a touching story about his stepfather, who beat him when he wrote bad grades. He then receives a model from the bank.
Since Jonas is familiar with computers , he procures the necessary equipment for the bank robbery from the Internet . With the help of the model, the children discuss all the details of the coup. Ida has to climb up to the safe because the safe cannot be moved at night - then an alarm would be triggered. But the shaft is almost twice as high as the water tower on which Ida practiced. For possible disruptions in the plan, they film a scene with the enthusiastic bank director to help them. The bank manager has no idea of the real reason for the video.
The first crisis is looming in the implementation of the plan. Sebastian and Jonas are jealous of each other because each of the two boys wants to go with Ida. The children then fall out. Now on her own, Ida undertakes another climbing exercise on the water tower. She almost falls down and is only saved by a safety rope. When Ida visits her father again in the hospital, his condition worsens. Now Ida is all the more determined to risk the break-in. She devises a ruse to win Sebastian and Jonas back for the break-in. Both boys pretend to be in love with him. As proof, she gives each boy one half of a heart pendant. The love affair should, however, remain a secret so as not to make the other jealous. In fact, Ida is not in love with any of the boys.
Preparations for the break-in can continue. Ida ordered air tickets to Seattle, while Sebastian three go-karts for escape coiffed . Jonas advises Ida that most people choose very personal passwords. Ida then listens to her mother for possible names for a password. Ida learns from her mother that even as a child she liked to make alarm systems so that her privacy was protected.
When he visits the hospital again, Ida's father sleeps. Ida gives an internal monologue. She seems to be talking to her father. She goes through the pros and cons of the bank robbery again. Finally she convinces herself again of the correctness.
On the day of the break-in, Ida meets her mother at the bank. She addresses Ida by her nickname "Sugar Mouse". This is Ida embarrassing in front of all the people. Since Ida's mother is busy in the evening, Ida has to take care of little William, and that during the planned robbery. Despite the new difficulties, the children can no longer be stopped from their plan and the break-in begins.
At night the children drive to the bank on the souped-up go-karts. Since Ida manipulated a window on the first floor that morning, she can easily climb up there and get into the bank. The security guard Henrik is suspicious when he sees a shadow of Ida on a control monitor . He leaves Johnny alone in the control room and goes on a tour.
Ida takes advantage of the situation and goes to Johnny in the control room. She tells him that she will also be at the company party. She distracts Johnny by pretending to kiss him. She opens a door so that Sebastian and Jonas can come in. But before Johnny can actually kiss her, she disappears again.
They reach the director's office via a ventilation system . There Jonas prepares the control of the surveillance cameras. Jonas also has to take care of little William. Sebastian and Ida then go to the vault. Meanwhile, the company party is in full swing. Ida begins her ascent to the vault, which turns out to be far more difficult than she suspected. Jonas also struggles with unexpected difficulties when the director suddenly comes into the office with an employee. Eventually they disappear again.
After Ida has arrived at the safe, she has to enter the password. The passwords she chose are all wrong. Before the alarm is triggered, Ida follows a prompt and finds the right password with "Zuckermaus". Nevertheless, Ida triggers an alarm in the safe, but Jonas reacts immediately with the video from the bank director. But the next shock follows when Ida finds the safe empty. Ida collapses because everything seems to have been in vain. Since she is at the end of her strength, the others should leave her behind. But her friends won't let Ida down.
Meanwhile, the security guard notices that the bank manager is wearing a different suit than on the video. He also discovers a climbing hook that Ida lost on the way to the safe. Sebastian bridges the mechanics of the safe elevator and it shuts down. An alarm is triggered. Johnny and the security guard now realize that there are burglars in the bank. The police are alerted and the dogs are released.
On the run from the security guard, William is separated from the three older children and found by the security guard. In a room where the three are hiding, Ida and the boys discover the bank's money. Because the actual safe was not yet ready, it was deposited there. You just take the exact amount of money for the operation with you. Eventually they are put by the security guard. But they get unexpected help from Johnny. When he found out the motives for the break-in, he switched off the security guard with a stun gun . So the children's escape can continue.
In the meantime, Ida's mother has learned that the bank had been broken into. When she then hears that the thieves must have climbed up to the safe, she has a serious suspicion. The final certainty is that the thieves only took 1.5 million Danish kroner away.
When they arrive at their escape karts, Sebastian and Jonas notice that Ida has given them both a love chain. Jonas and Sebastian then angrily part with Ida and drive away. Ida is left alone with William. On the run, Jonas and Sebastian are discovered by the police and engage in a wild chase with them. They split up to make it easier to shake off the pursuers. Jonas can initially hide from the police. In hiding, he speaks a new video message to his parents. But in the end both boys are caught.
Since the police only followed Sebastian and Jonas, Ida reached the hospital unmolested. She tries to get to the airport with her father. They meet Ida's mother in front of the hospital. Together they decide to flee to Seattle. But the police have now tracked Ida and have also arrived at the hospital. When Ida can no longer see a way out, she collapses crying over her fatally ill father's bed.
At the police station, the children tell in detail how the break-in came about. Since they acted out of pure charity, they will soon be released again. Back home, next to Ida's mother, the bank manager is waiting for Ida. After Ida apologized for the break-in, he gave Ida a check for 1.5 million Danish kroner. He tells her there are advantages to being a bank director.
Six weeks later, the operation went well and the go-kart track opened again. Jonas' parents have also returned. There is only one question left for the boys to ask Ida. Which of them does Ida want to go with now? But Ida just teases the boys without deciding on one.
analysis
Film genre
Kletter-Ida is the first children's film to consistently implement a special variety of thriller - the heist movie . A group of criminals forms a gang to shoot a "big thing" together. A plan is drawn up for which various experts are required. Tensions usually arise within the group that could lead to the failure of the company. The three children Ida, Sebastian and Jonas are of course not professional criminals. For them it is not about personal enrichment, but about saving a human life. Otherwise the film follows the heist movie genre.
A central question in gangster films is always questioning public order . And this is also called into question at Kletter-Ida. On the one hand, it is illegal to rob a bank. On the other hand, it is morally wrong to let someone die who could be saved by surgery. In this dilemma, Ida chooses the crime. Because there are clear answers to legal questions, but not to human questions.
Build-up of tension
The main part is divided into four sequences in classic film counting . A dramaturgical rule here is that the build-up of hope for the main actors continues until the middle of the second sequence, where it reaches an emotional climax. This is followed by a dramaturgical twist that extends to the disaster in the final act.
Kletter-Ida deviates from this rule in that the dramatic change only occurs at the end of the third sequence. The tension is always kept alive for the audience during the three sequences by turning points .
characters
At the beginning of the film, the main character - twelve-year-old Ida - and her environment are presented in a classic narrative manner . The opening sequence, in which Ida is shown climbing, shows her outstanding skills as a courageous and determined girl to the viewer. Likewise, all the important figures from Ida's living environment appear - her family and friends. Also Sebastian's brother. Even the bank director can already be seen in a video. Only the security guard appears later in the film.
Ida is in the transition phase between childhood and puberty . She wants to be in control of herself and nothing more to be told by her parents. This becomes clear in the discussions with her parents. Ida has a very caring side, which shows in an effort to save her father. On the other hand, she can also be ruthless in achieving her goals, which she proves by pretending to be in love with her friends. But since Ida is still a child, love doesn't matter to her.
Ida's behavior towards her parents is very different. Her father is her role model with whom she wants to measure herself. Therefore, she tries to outdo him in climbing. Ida argues with her mother when she is supposed to take care of her little brother. Ida likes her brother very much, but she doesn't want to be patronized. When she tries to find out the password, she learns that her mother thought the same as Ida as a child. This in turn closely connects mother and daughter.
Ida's friends Sebastian and Jonas have found a substitute family on the go-kart track and with Ida's family. Sebastian's family background is not examined in detail, only his brother appears in the film. Whether he lives in a broken family situation can only be guessed. The story he told about getting the banking models is at least partially made up. He suffered the alleged injury from his beating father himself while repairing a go-kart.
Jonas, on the other hand, tells us that his parents are often not at home, which he suffers a lot from. How much he misses them is also shown by the fact that he thinks of them while they are still on the run and sends them a video message. The two boys are drawn in opposite directions. While Sebastian is the reckless type with a certain amount of vanity, Jonas is more of the calmer and reliable type.
The three friends grow beyond themselves, as is typical of the genre, without being stylized as pure “super kids”. You see that the adult world is waiting for you without being able to decipher it completely. So they act with the means that are available to them.
action
The main storyline is triggered by the collapse of Ida's father. The child Ida is suddenly faced with an all-fulfilling difficult situation . Her feelings of sadness and helplessness can be clearly seen when the doctor makes the diagnosis. Ida's mother feels the same way. As an adult, however, she immediately tries to do something about the situation, while Ida first has to deal with the shock.
But since Ida is a determined character, she doesn't want to give up. And so a plan matures in her how to save her father with the possibilities that were given to her as a child. Ida's motivation is clearly understandable and is explained in an understandable way. The unsuccessful attempt by Ida's mother to get a loan makes the bank robbery appear to Ida as the only way to get the money.
On the other hand, the motivation of Ida's friends is ambiguous. While they also like Ida's father, their main motivation is that they are in love with Ida. This triangular constellation then also leads to the genre-typical conflict that could mean the failure of the company.
The three children face the guardians of the social order, personified in the role of the security guard and Johnny's brother. At the end of the film, the police also join.
Several incidents occurred during the break-in that ensured that the voltage was maintained. Be it by the security guard, who is gradually becoming more and more suspicious, or by the bank director who unexpectedly appears in the office during the company party.
The dramatic climax when Ida collapses in the safe, exhausted, indicates the turn in the film. The plan starts to go wrong more and more, and the plot is heading for disaster.
The fourth sequence is marked by surprising twists. On the one hand, the fact that the children can still find the money. When these are then provided by the security guard, the plan seems to have failed. Then comes the second, initially surprising, twist. They get help from Sebastian's brother. On closer inspection, Johnny's motives are obvious. On the one hand, he takes revenge on his instructor, who tyrannized him, on the other hand, he too shows compassion and can understand the children's motives.
needs
The end of the film takes place in two resolutions. On the one hand in the chase, at the end of which the children are caught. On the one hand, this is understandable, because the rules of human coexistence must be observed. On the other hand, this ending is unsatisfactory for the viewer, because the effort should also be worthwhile for Ida and her friends.
And so it comes to the second end, in which Ida apologizes to the bank director, who hands her a check for the amount required for the operation. The motives of the bank director are understandable, since Ida's act of desperation touched his heart. Whether this is a loan from the bank is left open.
Just as the end of the film consists of two parts, the protagonists' dilemma runs like a red thread through the film. The legal system has clear rules - you can't steal. The moral aspects are just as obvious without having such clear rules as the legal system .
Humanly, Ida has all sympathies on her side. However, the banks also act according to clear guidelines established by the legal system of the people. That anyone could leave the legal system in such emotional borderline situations is also shown in the mother's behavior. She would never have thought of a robbery. But when she sees the chance to save her husband after all, she wants to use it.
But that people also stand behind the legal system is shown in the role of the bank director. He is able to weigh between the rules of the system and moral aspects, and his authority can be decisive.
The question of why Ida chose this path is based on her character and age. She is a determined child on the threshold of adolescence. She radically questions all the rules. She doesn't want to be told anything more by her parents. In doing so, Ida is confronted with all the consequences of her actions. By betraying her friends for achieving her goals, they turn away from her first. In addition, she ends up facing the bank manager whose bank she has robbed. Apologizing does not make Ida a repentant sinner, but a mature young person.
comparison
For the summary of the remake see: Mission: Possible - These kids are unbelievable!
The American remake takes much less time to introduce the main actors. While at Kletter-Ida you sometimes learn something about the family background of Ida's friends, this is completely missing in this film adaptation.
As with Kletter-Ida, the dramatic change only takes place at the end of the third sequence. However, some turning points are missing due to the changes in the plot, for example because the money is immediately found in the safe. As a result, the tension is kept less awake for the viewer during the three sequences.
The mother-daughter conflict is brought out more strongly at the beginning of the film and Maddy serves as a motivational boost for the decision to break in. Maddy's relationship with her father, however, is included for a shorter time. Mainly this is shown by comparing her father's crash and the situation in which Maddy is breaking in.
A central role in the remake is the division of the role of the bank director into two people. In the original, the bank director embodies both sides of the dilemma. On the one hand the recognized rules that prevail in a capitalist society, on the other hand the human compassionate factor. This conflict does not occur due to the split in two people in the remake. The bank director is portrayed as cold-hearted and reckless, while the assistant receives the compassionate component. This postpones the conflict. The cause of the dilemma is not the human rule system, but its representatives.
Otherwise, too, the characters are divided into a clear good-evil scheme, with Austin's brother not helping the three children, for example. The role of the mother is even more important. While in the original this also ends up in the conflict between social rules and moral principles, in the American film the correctness of the social order is never an issue for the mother.
By breaking up with the alleged test break-in, the whole story dissolves without the main actors like Maddy having matured because their mother took care of everything.
History of origin
The idea for Kletter-Ida came from the director Hans Fabian Wullenweber . During a bike ride, he suddenly had the idea what if children robbed a bank. From this basic idea he developed the rough draft of a script and presented it to the Danish production company Nimbus Film . The draft script was accepted immediately.
Kletter-Ida had 240,000 viewers in Denmark alone (with a population of 5.5 million) and was thus more successful than Harry Potter in Denmark in 2002 . The film was also very successful internationally. For example, the film had 143,000 viewers in Germany.
During the development of the material , the father should be seriously ill with cancer . Only later was this idea changed, and the father is paralyzed by the long-term effects of a fall. That is why the filmmakers worked closely with an institution in Denmark that looks after the children of parents with cancer in developing the story. A central question was whether the topic - a child wants to save his father's life through a crime - should even be implemented. The opinion of the experts was that the film encourages children and that in a seemingly hopeless situation you shouldn't lose hope, but rather take the initiative.
Reviews
“The bravest girl since Pippi Longstocking! … “
Mirror
"Stories like this can almost only be created in Scandinavian countries (in this case Denmark), where children's films are much more important than ours and where adults don't get bored when accompanying their children to the cinema."
Epd Film, 2003
»Klatretøsen« (Climbing Ida) is an amazing debut. “Hans Fabian Wullenweber has created an elaborate action film for children in which he introduces a girl with an extraordinary hobby: free climbing is the passion of 12-year-old Ida. She uses her courage and skills to carry out a bank robbery in the hope of being able to save her father's life with the loot. ”
Press release Berlinale, January 18, 2002
"... a great moment in children's cinema."
Cinema
“Action, high tension, crimes out of passion, romantic heroes, like in a Hollywood film, and all of that presented in a humorous and authentic way. With his cinema debut Kletter-Ida, the Danish director Hans Fabian Wullenweber immediately hits the ground running. The story is full of all the cool ingredients that young people expect from the cinema, but at the same time grounded in the right places and not so senselessly overloaded and aloof like the much too silly Spy Kids or Scooby Doo . ”
Norbert Raffelsiefen, Programmkino.de
"Climbing Ida can not only compete with American family entertainment ... it easily surpasses it."
Zitty
“What is captivating about this film ... is his appeal to take children seriously, his advocacy of a partnership between the sexes and his renunciation of any role stereotypes. With this film, the genre of the action film was prepared in a child-friendly manner for the first time. ”
Youth media commission at the Federal Ministry for Education, Science and Culture
Awards
The film Kletter-Ida received several awards in 2002, including a special mention and a transparent bear at the Berlinale . A total of seven prizes went to the director Hans Fabian Wullenweber. Joans Wagner received a Robert Prize for the best special effects.
The German Film and Media Assessment FBW in Wiesbaden awarded the film the rating particularly valuable.
| festival | Award | country | year | person |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Berlinale | Glass bear | Germany | 2002 | Hans Fabian Wullenweber |
| Chicago International Children's Film Festival | 2nd place in the children's jury | United States | 2002 | Hans Fabian Wullenweber |
| Cinekid | Audience price | Netherlands | 2002 | Hans Fabian Wullenweber |
| Barnefilmfestivalen i Kristiansand | Audience price | Norway | 2002 | Hans Fabian Wullenweber |
| Norske Filmfestivalen Haugesund | Nordic children and youth award | Norway | 2002 | Hans Fabian Wullenweber |
| Oulun kansainvälinen lastenelokuvien festivaali | Starboy award | Finland | 2002 | Hans Fabian Wullenweber |
| Robert Festival |
Robert Prize for the best children's film Robert Prize for the best special effects |
Denmark | 2002 | Hans Fabian Wullenweber Jonas Wagner |
literature
- Beate Völcker: Children's film, material and project development. UVK , Konstanz 2005, ISBN 3-89669-521-5 (= Praxis Film , Volume 25).
Individual evidence
- ↑ epd film no. 1/2003, community work of Evangelical Journalism, Frankfurt a. M., p. 48
Web links
- Catch That Girl in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Kletter-Ida in the online film database
- Reviews from children ( memento of October 30, 0160 in the Internet Archive )
