Simon says goodbye to his foreskin

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Movie
Original title Simon says goodbye to his foreskin
Country of production Germany
original language German
Publishing year 2015
length 85 minutes
Age rating FSK 12
Rod
Director Viviane Andereggen
script Georg Lippert
production Lars Büchel
Bernd T. Hoefflin
music Max Berghaus
Simon Heeger
camera Judith Kaufmann
cut Andreas Bardét
Constantin von Seld
occupation

Simon says goodbye to his foreskin is a 2015 comedy film by Viviane Andereggen about growing up and the problems that arise from it. The film was made as part of the NDR junior series Northern Lights .

action

Twelve year old Simon is on the verge of puberty . And his life is challenging: his mother Hannah has left him and his father Frank. Frank hopes for a temporary separation. Hannah has found herself new as an author of erotic novels. The family is of Jewish faith , which did not play a major role until the parents separated. Due to the death of his father and as a result of the separation, however, Frank remembers the traditions and begins to lead a consistently religious life. This includes that his so far uncircumcised son Simon should lose his foreskin in time for the bar mitzvah . Just thinking about it, Simon becomes restless, especially since his mother is against it.

Leading actors (from left to right): Florian Stetter, Catherine de Léan, Maximilian Ehrenreich and Lavinia Wilson

Then a woman comes into Simon's life who erases all worries in one fell swoop. The Jewish community has a new rabbi , and when Simon sees the pastor for the first time, it happened to him: Rebecca Tannenbaum is an attractive woman in her early thirties who enchants Simon and his father as well. With his two friends Clemens and Ben, Simon decides to conquer Rebecca by every trick in the book. However, he sees his father as his greatest opponent in this fight. An unexpected lust for battle flares up in the boy. He is ready to go all out and lead his first campaign of conquest: From now on Rebecca will be watched day and night, everything about her will be collected and meticulously organized and studied in the cellar. In addition, Simon spares no effort to impress the target of his desire. Unfortunately, Rebecca's collection of photos and personal effects hidden in the basement, which honored every stalker , is discovered by a member of the Jewish community, with unpleasant consequences for Frank's reputation .

After Simon learns that Rebecca thinks religious circumcision is important, he decides to do so. In order not to provoke any further arguments among his parents, he wants to carry them out himself using a magic ring that he orders on the Internet. This leads to complications, which is why the foreskin is finally removed in the clinic. When Rebecca visits him in the hospital, he confesses to her that it was he who collected her photos, not Frank. The reason he points to his unrequited love for her. Rebecca makes it clear to him, however, that she is not right for him.

A short time later the Mitzvah Simons bar takes place. His parents are now divorced, which is why Frank can dance wildly with Rebecca. And Simon can turn to someone of the same age.

production

The film was produced as part of the NDR junior series Nordlichter and financed with funds from Nordmedia - Film- und Mediengesellschaft Niedersachsen / Bremen and the Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein Film Fund . The production company was element e filmproduktion . The shooting lasted from March 24th to April 29th 2015 and took place in Hamburg and Geesthacht . The events of the film are located in the Hamburg Jewish community , which reacted very openly to the film idea.

The film celebrated its world premiere on October 10, 2015 at the Hamburg Film Festival and was shown for the first time on television on November 19, 2015 in the NDR program. On January 29, 2016, the North American premiere at the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival with the title Time to Say Goodbye took place in a subtitled version.

criticism

The film received positive reviews mainly because of the performance of the main actor Maximilian Ehrenreich . At Tittelbach.tv , for example, the biggest compliment for leading the title actor was due:

“The young Maximilian Ehrenreich is evidently a natural. At just twelve years old, he wears this film like a big guy. "

His performance was also particularly honored for the American audience:

Time to Say Goodbye is a ton of fun, and young Ehrenreich leaves you wanting nothing.

" Time to Say Goodbye is a lot of fun, and the young Ehrenreich leaves nothing to be desired."

- Lucy Doughty : Georgia's film guide

The honorary committee at the 22nd Jewish Film Festival Berlin & Brandenburg particularly emphasized the normality of the role figure of the main actor:

“We are finally seeing Jews as neighbors and not as exotic people in the cinema. Simon is a boy who could live anywhere in Germany. "

- Jalda Rebling , Anna Adam : Honorary Committee of the 22nd Jewish Film Festival Berlin & Brandenburg

In Germany, the film is said to have been discussed controversially even before its premiere on the Internet at the height of the circumcision debate.

Others

  • For the director Viviane Andereggen it was the first production after graduating from the Hamburg Media School
  • The film has been available on DVD since February 26, 2016

Awards

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. a b Certificate of Release for Simon says goodbye to his foreskin . Voluntary self-regulation of the film industry (PDF). Template: FSK / maintenance / type not set and Par. 1 longer than 4 characters
  2. Simon says goodbye to his foreskin at crew united . Retrieved April 26, 2016.
  3. a b Simon says goodbye to his foreskin. In: ffhsh.de , accessed on April 26, 2016.
  4. Comedy: A lot of fuss about Simon's foreskin. In: ndr.de. April 28, 2015, archived from the original on April 26, 2016 ; Retrieved April 28, 2016 .
  5. a b c d Simon says goodbye to his foreskin. In: welt.de . October 12, 2015, accessed April 26, 2016 .
  6. Simon says goodbye to his foreskin. In: ndr.de. November 19, 2015, accessed April 26, 2016 .
  7. Time to Say Goodbye. In: ajff.org , accessed April 26, 2016.
  8. TV movie "Simon says goodbye to his foreskin". In: tittelbach.tv , from November 19, 2015, accessed on April 26, 2016.
  9. ^ Lucy Doughty, "Time to Say Goodbye" Review. In: reelga.com , February 13, 2016, accessed April 26, 2016 (English).
  10. a b press release from June 13, 2016. In: jfbb.de. June 13, 2016, accessed June 16, 2016 .
  11. Our program - Simon says goodbye to his foreskin. In: indigo.de , accessed on April 26, 2016.
  12. Awarding of the German Director Prize Metropolis 2016. On: professional-production.de , November 8, 2016, accessed on July 15, 2017.