Seven minutes past midnight (movie)

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Movie
German title Seven minutes past midnight
Original title A monster calls
Country of production USA , Spain ,
United Kingdom
original language English
Publishing year 2016
length 109 minutes
Age rating FSK 12
JMK 12
Rod
Director Juan Antonio Bayona
script Patrick Ness
production Belén Atienza
music Fernando Velázquez
camera Óscar Faura
cut Jaume Martí ,
Bernat Vilaplana
occupation

Seven Minutes After Midnight (Original Title: A Monster Calls ) is a fantasy film by Juan Antonio Bayona , which premiered on September 9, 2016 as part of the Toronto International Film Festival . The film was released in selected US cinemas on December 23, 2016 and in German cinemas on May 4, 2017. The film is based on the youth book of the same name by the American writer Patrick Ness from 2011.

action

The twelve-year-old Conor O'Malley lives in England with his seriously ill mother, to whom he has a very close relationship. She has to go to the hospital regularly for a few days for therapy. While she recovers from the rigors of these stays, Conor takes care of the household. Her mother, Conor's grandmother, also comes by often. She indicates to him that he will live with her after his mother's death, which Conor does not want under any circumstances, as she treats him lovingly and disrespectfully. At school, Conor is considered a dreamer and is regularly beaten up by his sadistic classmate Harry and his friends. On top of that, Conor is plagued by a nightmare in which the old church near his house collapses and falls into an opening hole into which someone threatens to fall, and he tries to hold onto this person. Conor tries to process his feelings by drawing - a talent he inherited from his mother.

When he awoke from his nightmare one night, exactly at seven minutes past midnight, a large yew tree on the cemetery hill next to the church, which he can see through his window, suddenly turned into a gnarled monster that went right into the Garden in front of Conor's room and talks to him. It tells Conor that he knows him better than he does himself and that he will tell him three stories at the next meeting. In return, Conor is supposed to tell the nightmare that contains his truth.

In the first story told by the monster, a prince and his bride flee from his stepmother, the wicked queen, but kill the sleeping bride under the yew tree so that the people accuse the queen, chase her away and he becomes king. It is meant to teach Conor that people are not just good or bad, but something in between. Apparently this was aimed at his grandmother.

Since the therapy does not work for her, his mother has to go to the hospital for a few days, while Conor has to move in with his grandmother. His father, who lives with his new family in Los Angeles, comes to visit. He spent a happy day with him when he visited a fairground. The father invites him to visit him at Christmas in Los Angeles, but at the same time takes away from Conor the hope of being able to live with him permanently.

After damaging his grandmother's valuable watch out of anger, the monster appears and tells the second story: A hard-hearted pastor forbids a natural healer living in the yew tree cavity to fell it in order to be able to help people with the medicine obtained from it . Only when his own children are terminally ill does he want to fulfill his every wish, but the healer does not help him now. The tree monster begins to destroy the pastor's house, and Conor joins it with increasing enthusiasm. When he finally comes to, he is standing in his grandmother's living room and sees that he has broken all the furniture. She is bitter about it, but does not punish Conor.

When Conor's mother got worse and worse, the doctors tried a final therapy with a remedy made from yew wood. When Conor hears this, he begs the monster to heal his mother. But this says that this is not his job. At school Harry tells Conor that he doesn't want to bother him anymore and that Conor is now invisible to him. The monster then tells him the story of an invisible man who didn't want to be. With the support of the monster, Conor pounces on Harry and beats him to hospital. The headmistress tells him that she should actually expel him from school, but in view of Conor's situation, to his astonishment, she also waives a punishment.

Conor learns from his mother that she will die. He runs to the yew; the monster forces him to relive his nightmare, in which the mother now falls. Conor admits that he had long suspected that his mother would not survive the illness, and that he secretly hoped that she would die soon, which made him feel guilty. The monster explains to him that he does not want his mother to die, only the end of his own suffering, which is very human.

The grandmother finds Conor sleeping under the yew tree and drives him to the clinic. When they have to wait at a train gate in their car, he makes up with her. In the hospital, Conor hugs his mother one last time and tells her - asked by the monster that is also present to tell her the real truth - that he doesn't want her to die. Conor moves in with his grandmother, who has lovingly furnished him his own room. On the table is a book with his mother's drawings of the monster and his stories.

production

Literary template

The film is based on the novel Seven Minutes After Midnight (original title A Monster Calls ) by the American writer Patrick Ness from 2011. The book goes back to an idea by Siobhan Dowd , whose early death prevented her from writing the story herself. Dowd died of breast cancer in 2007 after three years of illness at the age of 47. The German translation of A Monster Calls is by Bettina Abarbanell . Axel Kremp from the Badische Zeitung says about the book that it offers tension and child-friendly horror and tells a story of letting go, which in the end moves every reader to tears and yet comforts them without becoming difficult. In 2012, Ness became the first author to win both the Carnegie Medal and the Kate Greenway Medal for best illustration. Ness also did the work on the script adaptation of his novel for the film.

Staff, cast and dubbing

Marsden, Peel St..JPG
The shooting took place in, among others, in the Peel Street Huddersfield place
Pigeon Tower in Rivington - geograph.org.uk - 501205.jpg
In October 2014, landscape photographs were taken near the Pigeon Tower in Rivington

The director took Juan Antonio Bayona . The screenplay for Ness was blacklisted for Hollywood's Best Unfilmed Ideas in 2013 .

Lewis MacDougall played Conor, Sigourney Weaver plays his strict but loving grandmother, Felicity Jones plays Conor's sick mother and Toby Kebbell plays his father. James Melville took on the role of Conor's thirsty classmate Harry. His friends Sully and Anton were played by the child actors Oliver Steer and Dominic Boyle .

The actor Tom Holland acted as a stand-in for the monster during the shooting of the film , which gave MacDougall something to watch when he had to speak to it, although it was actually only brought into the film in a post-production. The actor Liam Neeson lent his voice to the monster in the original and can also be seen in a small cameo in the film.

Ben Hadad can be heard in the German dubbing in the role of Conor, Yvonne Greitzke speaks his mother and Dennis Schmidt-Foss speaks his father. Karin Buchholz took over the role of the grandmother and Bernd Rumpf that of the monster.

Filming and film music

Filming took place in the English town of Bolton , Linthwaite and Woods Terrace and Peel Streets in Marsden, Huddersfield . Colne Valley High School in Huddersfield was also used as a filming location for Conor's School, as was Glossopdale Community College in Derbyshire . Beginning in October 2014 took place before the shooting landscape of Rivington Pike, near the Pigeon Towers in Rivington in the county of Lancashire . In Spain the film was shot in the Parc Audiovisual of the Catalunya Studios in Terrassa .

Chris Ignuk from IGN recognizes a peculiarity in the shots and describes that Bayona shot large parts of the film from Connor's child-like perspective , similar to ET , and had the camera pointed upwards when the adults were shooting. In addition, you often only hear the conversations of the adults that take place outside of Connor's sight.

Fernando Velázquez composed the film music . For the orchestral recordings he conducted the renowned Basque Symphony Orchestra and the Orfeón Donostiarra . The soundtrack to the film has a total length of 70:57 minutes, comprises 21 songs and was released on September 26, 2016 by Quartet Records. The song Tear Up This Town , which can be heard in two different versions at the beginning and end of the soundtrack, was contributed by the English rock band Keane . The trailer presented in July 2016 was accompanied by the song Lower Your Eyelids To Die With The Sun , which was recorded by the French electronic / dream pop band M83 .

In December 2016, the soundtrack was included in the list of candidates (longlist) at the Academy Awards 2017 in the category Best Film Music , from which the members of the Academy determined the official nominations, but was ultimately not selected.

Publishing and Marketing

The film premiered on September 9, 2016 at the Toronto International Film Festival . The film celebrated its European premiere on September 21, 2016 as part of the Festival de San Sebastián . In the USA, the film was shown for the first time on September 29, 2016 at the Fantastic Fest in Austin . The film was released in Spanish cinemas on October 7, 2016 and was presented a few days later at the London Film Festival . The film was released in selected US cinemas on December 23, 2016 and in German cinemas on May 4, 2017. The film was released on Blu-ray Disc on October 19, 2017.

In December 2016, Focus Features released a featurette for the film. In the video, author Patrick Ness talks about the story of the book and how it was adapted for the film. The featurette also includes some concept art and scenes from the film.

reception

Age rating

In the US, the MPAA gave the film a PG-13 rating because of the issues it addressed and some terrifying images. IGN's Chris Ignuk explains that the film's narrative is often terrifying and often too emotionally complex for young viewers. In Germany the film is FSK 12 . The statement of reasons for the release states: “The film deals with topics such as grief , farewell and childish nightmares . This is done in a way that is suitable for young people and does not overwhelm viewers from the age of 12. Due to their level of development, children from this age are able to understand the themes of the film and to process the fantasy representations appropriately. There are indeed some emotional and sometimes frightening scenes, but these too are within a framework that does not permanently burden children from the age of 12. In addition, the boy's loving family environment gives the boy a sense of security and strengthens his confidence for a happy ending. "

In a conclusion by PC Games , Seven Minutes After Midnight is described as strong stuff for a children's and youth film that offers no simple morals and no simple answers: “It is not entirely clear which target group the fantasy drama is intended for. On the one hand, it is brave that director Bayona does not shy away from topics such as illness and death, on the other hand, not every child will be able to cope with this emotional severity. However, Bayona cleverly interweaves imaginative visual design elements and wonderful animations with real scenes that are a little too gloomy. A sensitive portrait of an almost impossible grief. "

Reviews

The film was able to convince 86 percent of the critics at Rotten Tomatoes and came out of the 18th Annual Golden Tomato Awards as the runner-up of the British films.

Lewis MacDougall, who plays Conor in the film, and Felicity Jones, who plays his mother in the film, at the premiere in Toronto Lewis MacDougall, who plays Conor in the film, and Felicity Jones, who plays his mother in the film, at the premiere in Toronto
Lewis MacDougall , who plays Conor in the film, and Felicity Jones ,
who plays his mother in the film, at the premiere in Toronto

Antje Wessels explains that the film is about a boy who is on the verge of losing his mother, who is suffering from cancer, and who summons a giant tree monster to cope with grief. The film, according to Wessels, gets under your skin from the first to the last second, is sad and powerful, makes you angry and breaks the viewer's heart. With its moving narrative, immeasurable beauty and wonderful music, the film is guaranteed to secure a place in every viewer's heart, says Wessels.

Bryan Bishop of The Verge says Bayona created an unforgettable, emotional experience with the film that forces us to grapple with our most basic human fears and worries, but also light a beacon of hope that shines in this darkness. Regarding the acting achievements of the young actor Lewis MacDougall , who played the leading role in the film and can therefore be seen in almost every scene of the film, Bishop says that he is able to bring a remarkable emotional depth into the film, regardless of whether he is angry , To express resignation, frustration or indignation. He succeeds in doing this without any melodrama, and it is not noticeable, according to Bishop, that he is surrounded by seasoned actors like Sigourney Weaver in a supporting role.

Richard Brody of the New Yorker explains that the shaggy tree is actually Conor's therapist , who is a classic Freudian and helps him interpret the disturbing and confused messages of his nightmare. However, the film is emptied by its simple final morale, which reads: "Only 'yew' [in English actually the" yew "] can help yourself."

Rudolf Worschech from epd Film sums up at the end of his review: “ Seven minutes after midnight is a lot at the same time, a horror film , a coming-of-age drama , a fairy tale with a bad ending, a special effects work with many allusions, for example to Pan's labyrinth by Guillermo del Toro , and one can only admire the Spaniard Bayona, who realized a work by an American in Great Britain with a gothic touch, for the confidence with which he brings these elements together and the emotional drama of this boy subordinate. "

From the German Film and Media Review was seven minutes after midnight with the predicate particularly valuable provided. The reasoning states: “The film focuses entirely on the boy's emotionality, who doesn't want to accept that his mother will die. There is mad rage and despair in him. So he once encourages the monster to cut everything short and sweet - in reality it is Conor himself who destroys the grandmother's living room. 'Seven Minutes After Midnight' tells with dignity and respect of the boy's torments until he can accept the bitter truth and let go of his mother. "

Gross profit

In Spain the film reached number 1 in the cinema charts and stayed there for three weeks. The film's worldwide revenues are currently $ 47.3 million. The film can also be shown in China. The film was released in Chinese cinemas on May 19, 2017 and has grossed around 2 million US dollars there so far.

Awards (selection)

The film received a large number of awards and nominations, including nine awards and another three nominations from the 2017 Goya Awards . In August 2017 it was announced that the film was on the longlist, from which the nominees for the 30th European Film Award will be determined. Below is a selection of awards and nominations.

Critics' Choice Movie Awards 2016 (December)

European Film Award 2017

  • Nomination for the audience award
  • Award for the best clay ( Oriol Tarragó )

Evening Standard British Film Awards 2017

  • Nomination for the Malone Souliers Award for Breakthrough of the Year (Lewis MacDougall)

Goya Awards 2017

Juan Antonio Bayona was at the Goya Awards 2017 for the Best Director Award

London Critics' Circle Film Awards 2017

San Sebastián International Film Festival 2016

  • Award with the SIGNIS Award (Special Mention) (Juan Antonio Bayona)

Saturn Awards 2017

Three Empire Awards 2017

  • Award for best fantasy or science fiction film
  • Nomination for Best Young Actor (Lewis MacDougall)

Washington DC Area Film Critics Association Awards 2016

  • Nomination for Best Child Actor (Lewis MacDougall)
  • Award for the best voice performance ( Liam Neeson )
  • Nomination for Best Motion Capture Performance (Liam Neeson)
  • Nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay (Patrick Ness)

Web links

Commons : Seven Minutes After Midnight  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Certificate of Release for Seven Minutes After Midnight . Voluntary self-regulation of the film industry (PDF; test number: 165219 / K). Template: FSK / maintenance / type not set and Par. 1 longer than 4 characters
  2. ↑ Age rating for seven minutes past midnight . Youth Media Commission .
  3. ↑ Tim Masters: Patrick Ness: Why I wrote A Monster Calls In: bbc.com, August 6, 2011.
  4. ↑ Axel Kremp: Patrick Ness: 'Seven minutes after midnight' In: Badische Zeitung, July 23, 2016.
  5. ↑ Tim Masters: Carnegie Medal: Patrick Ness book A Monster Calls scoops double honors In: bbc.co.uk, June 14, 2012.
  6. ↑ Maren Koetsier: Surprising: 'Spider-Man' Tom Holland was involved in 'Seven Minutes After Midnight' In: filmstarts.de, September 24, 2016.
  7. ^ Neil Atkinson: Film cash pours into Britain - and Huddersfield has a starring role In: examiner.co.uk, February 7, 2015.
  8. ↑ Jon Robinson: Top actors and actresses head to Rivington Pike for 'A Monster Calls' film In: Lancashire Telegraph, January 11, 2017.
  9. ↑ Scenes for new movie being shot at Rivington Pike In: chorleycitizen.co.uk, October 12, 2014.
  10. ↑ a b Chris Ignuk: A Monster Calls Review In: ign.com, September 29, 2016.
  11. ↑ 'A Monster Calls' soundtrack details In: filmmusicreporter.com, September 12, 2016.
  12. ↑ A Monster Calls In: soundtrack.net. Retrieved October 2, 2016.
  13. ↑ A Monster Calls (2016 Movie) - Trailer Song In: commercial-song.net, July 13, 2016.
  14. ↑ 145 Original Scores In 2016 Oscar Race In: oscars.org, December 13, 2016.
  15. ↑ A Monster Calls In: tiff.net. Retrieved September 17, 2016.
  16. ↑ A Monster Calls In: sansebastianfestival.com. Retrieved September 23, 2016.
  17. ↑ A Monster Calls In: fantasticfest.com. Retrieved September 25, 2016.
  18. ↑ Un monstruo viene a avoid In: ecartelera.com. Retrieved October 15, 2016.
  19. ↑ Fantasy drama 'Seven Minutes After Midnight' expected on October 19, 2017 on Blu-ray Disc In: bluray-disc.de, April 28, 2017.
  20. ↑ Hannes Könitzer: Seven minutes after midnight: New featurette about the adaptation of the book In: robots-and-dragons.de, December 3, 2016.
  21. ^ A Monster Calls In: parentpreviews.com. Retrieved October 2, 2016.
  22. ↑ Reason for release for seven minutes after midnight In: Voluntary self-control of the film industry. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
  23. ↑ Seven minutes after midnight: film review of the rousing fantasy drama In: pcgames.de, May 1, 2017.
  24. ↑ A Monster Calls In: Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
  25. ↑ Best-reviewed Action Movies 2016 In: Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved January 21, 2017.
  26. ↑ Antje Wessels: Outlook on 2017 In: countrymusicnews.de, January 9, 2017.
  27. ↑ Bryan Bishop: A Monster Calls review: so good you won't care that you're crying. JA Bayona's new film uses fantasy to reckon with unbearable tragedy In: The Verge, September 9, 2016.
  28. ↑ A Monster Calls In: The New Yorker. Retrieved February 7, 2017.
  29. ^ Rudolf Worschech: Critique of Seven Minutes After Midnight In: epd Film, April 21, 2017.
  30. ↑ Seven minutes after midnight In: fbw-filmbeval.com. Retrieved March 8, 2017.
  31. ↑ A Monster Calls In: boxofficemojo.com. Retrieved November 9, 2017.
  32. ↑ Fergus Ryan: 'A Monster Calls' Passes Censorship in China In: chinafilminsider.com, April 11, 2017.
  33. ↑ http://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Monster-Calls-A/China#tab=summary
  34. ↑ Arun Kakar: European Film Awards selects 51 titles for nominations longlist In: screendaily.com, August 22, 2017.
  35. ↑ Gregg Kilday: 'La La Land,' 'Arrival,' 'Moonlight' Top Critics' Choice Nominations In: The Hollywood Reporter, December 1, 2016.
  36. ↑ Vote for EFA People's Choice Award Opens In: europeanfilmawards.eu. Retrieved September 16, 2017.
  37. ^ William Moore: Evening Standard British Film Awards - The shortlist In: standard.co.uk, November 24, 2016.
  38. ↑ Pamela Rolfe: Juan Antonio Bayona's 'A Monster Calls' Leads Goya Award Nominations In: The Hollywood Reporter, December 14, 2016.
  39. ↑ Jennifer Ruby: London Critics' Circle Film Awards: Kate Beckinsale and Naomie Harris pick up top acting prizes In: standard.co.uk, January 22, 2017.
  40. ↑ Elisabet Cabeza: San Sebastián: China's 'I Am Not Madame Bovary' wins Golden Shell In: screendaily.com, September 25, 2016.
  41. ↑ The 43rd Annual Saturn Awards nominations are announced for 2016 In: saturnawards.org. Retrieved March 2, 2017.
  42. ↑ John Nugent: Three Empire Awards 2017: Rogue One, Tom Hiddleston And Patrick Stewart Win Big In: empireonline.com, March 19, 2017.
  43. ↑ The 2016 WAFCA Awards In: dcfilmcritics.com. Retrieved December 7, 2016.