Toni gold washer

Movie
Original title	Toni gold washer
Country of production	Germany
original language	German
Publishing year	2007
length	92 minutes
Age rating	FSK 6
Rod
Director	Norbert Lechner
script	Rudolf Herfurtner
production	Norbert Lechner
music	Martin Unterberger
camera	Maximilian Plettau
cut	Manuela Kempf , ; Norbert Lechner
occupation
	Lorenz Strasser: Toni Sedlacek; Annemarie Lechner: Elfi; Luis Huber: Herbert; Leopold Hornung : Chaplain; Florian Schlegl: Hans Beil; Maria Brendel: Maria Sedlacek;

Toni Goldwascher is a German youth film directed by Norbert Lechner from 2007 . Rudolf Herfurtner wrote the script based on the novel of the same name by Josef Einwanger .

action

The 12-year-old Toni Sedlacek lived with his mother in the post-war period in the rural idyll of the Bavarian mountains. His passion is panning for gold on the river, just as his late father once did. The village community is divided into so-called Unterdörfler and Oberdörfler. Toni is in a clinic with the guys from the Unterdörfler gang. He gets along well with Herbert, who lives in the village's orphanage. Elfi, who is mute due to a war trauma and also a child at home, would like to be friends with Toni and secretly chases after him, which Toni is initially quite annoying.

While rummaging in his father's workshop, Toni finds a treasure map. Gold should still be found on the small island in the middle of the river, it says. Since his mother warns him not to swim over, he builds a raft out of tree trunks. Herbert still helps him build the raft, but he makes the first crossing alone and actually finds a few lumps of gold while panning for gold on the island. From the gold he found, he secretly made a ring for Elfi in the home workshop. At the village blacksmith he saw how metal objects are made by melting them down.

Hans and Siggi from Unterdörfl, who did not escape Toni's efforts, also go to the island and dig for gold there. You won't find any gold, but you can find a working rifle and the associated ammunition. One night when Hans went to the Sedlacek house with his rifle, Toni woke up to the beating of his watchful dog, Strupp. Hans flees to the river. Toni releases his dog from the chain and follows him. A short time later, due to a malicious act by Hans, Strupp drifted downriver alone in a boat. To save him Toni follows him with his self-made raft, but falls into the water from exhaustion.

Mother Sedlacek finds Toni's bed empty at the same time and, with the help of the chaplain, summons a police search party. Since he gives up quickly, Toni's mother and the chaplain continue to search on their own. At least they can locate Strupp by his barking and bring them home. Elfi and Hans then travel the river to look for Toni. Hans reassures Elfi that he only has flare ammunition in his rifle. After Hans fires the flare ammunition - it's still dark night - Elfi can spot her hero on driftwood. Toni is rescued and Elfi begins to speak again.

Background information

Around 250,000 euros were spent on film production. The shooting time was a total of 35 days. The Inn valley between Wasserburg and Mühldorf and the farm museum in Massing served as the backdrop . Hund Strupp was a seven-year-old mixed breed dog named Luca owned by the animal trainer Eve Schwender. Leading actor Lorenz Strasser actually has no connection to dogs, which made the collaboration between him and Luca difficult at first.

The film was released in German cinemas on September 6, 2007.

Reviews

"Sympathetic and charming children's film with dramatic undertones in the best tradition of 'Tom Sawyer'"

- TV feature film

“The period in which the plot takes place seems particularly unconventional, especially for a children's film. The young audience is saturated with animation projects and highly stylized detective stories. With 'Toni Goldwascher' comes a film in which the children can grapple with the time after the Second World War. There are no silver bullets or great special effects here. Instead, an entertaining story that scores with aesthetic image settings and tracking shots. The acting performances of the young actors Lorenz Strasser, Florian Schlegl, Annemarie Lechner and Luis Huber are extremely convincing. "

- Indra Fehse

“Through the use of an off-speaker, the viewer gets the story told from the children's point of view and can thus better understand the protagonists' thoughts. The depicted brutality that was exercised by the children at the time and is also shown in this film is proof of the authentic and unadorned staging. [...] All of this is rounded off by the wonderfully light-flooded landscape shots, which convey a pleasant and positive atmosphere. The overall package of the film is an excellent success for a children's or youth film. "

- TV cult

Awards

2008: Golden Kite Award for the best youth film, Festival Cine La Nueva Mirada in Buenos Aires
2009: Special Prize from CIFEJ, International Children's Film Festival in Cairo
2011: Emil for good children's television

literature

Josef Einwanger : Toni Goldwascher. C. Bertelsmann Jugendbuchverlag, Munich
- In 2009 also as paperback published by Monsenstein and Vannerdat, ISBN 978-3-86582-570-4