Große Mädchen weinen nicht (2002)

Director:

Maria von Heland

Writer:

Maria von Heland (writer)

Release Date:

24 October 2002 (Germany)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

A provocative new film about what we go through to find out who we are.

Plot:

Kati and Steffi are best friends since childhood. But as they step into adulthood, both their perfect...

Plot Keywords:

Best Friend | Revenge | Family Relationships | Late Night | Imperative In Title

Cast

Anna Maria Mühe	...	Kati
Karoline Herfurth	...	Steffi
David Winter	...	Carlos
Josefine Domes	...	Tessa
Tillbert Strahl-Schäfer	...	Klaus
Jennifer Ulrich	...	Yvonne
Nina Petri	...	Ann
Stefan Kurt	...	Hans, Steffis Vater
Teresa Harder	...	Jeanette, Tessas Mutter
Matthias Brandt	...	Jost, Katis Vater
Gabriela Maria Schmeide	...	Ingrid, Katis Mutter
Dieter Laser	...	Herr Winter
Ingo Hasselbach	...	Bartender
Alma Leiberg	...	Ramona
Chiara Steinmüller	...	Lottie

Also Known As:

Big Girls Don't Cry (International: English title)

MPAA:

Rated R for sexuality, language, drug use and some violence - all involving teens.

Runtime:

87 min | Argentina:92 min

Country:

Germany

Language:

German

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Argentina:18 | Canada:18A | Denmark:11 | Germany:12 | Sweden:11 | UK:15 | USA:R | Iceland:12 | Brazil:16

Filming Locations:

Berlin, Germany

Company:

Deutsche Columbia TriStar Filmproduktion

Soundtrack:

Push

complex tale of morally adrift teens

In most movies about teens - at least those made in America - we usually don't have to spend a great deal of time trying to figure out who are the "good" people and who are the "bad." The filmmakers are usually kind enough to do that for us. This is obviously not the case in Europe, however, for in the German film "Big Girls Don't Cry," the adolescents we meet are anything but morally and ethically clear-cut.

The two best friends, Steffi and Kati, seem like fairly typical middle class teens - somewhat mischievous, obsessed with boys, and faintly rebellious against the authority figures of the adult world. They also drink, party and experiment with drugs - nothing too radical for teens anywhere in the world today. However, one night Steffi inadvertently discovers that her father is having an affair. At this point, all hell breaks loose, as Steffi decides to take her anger and revenge out on the innocent daughter of her father's mistress, an aspiring singer named Tessa. Steffi sends Tessa to a potentially dangerous local pornographer, leading her to believe that he is actually a record producer searching for new talent. This single action leads to a series of cascading events that winds up, in some way or other, adversely affecting most of the people in Steffi's life.

Steffi and Kati are both fully realized and complex characters who refuse to be pigeonholed at any given point in the movie. Steffi begins her crusade of vengeance convinced that she is acting strictly out of righteous anger, especially since, in her mind at least, her actions are as much a way of protecting her mother's honor as her own. And if innocent victims have to be sacrificed along the way, well, so be it. What Steffi doesn't realize, until it's too late, is that we can't always control how the human dramas we set in motion will ultimately act themselves out. Kati, who is far more rebellious and far more promiscuous than Steffi, finds herself torn between her loyalty as a friend and doing what she knows is right. It is Kati, the less self-assured one, who, ultimately, becomes the moral beacon that Steffi will be forced to follow if she hopes to survive in the world.

Anna Maria Muhe as Kati and Karoline Herfurth as Steffi give brilliant, well-rounded performances, as does the rest of the talented cast. The acting, writing and directing are so good and true, in fact, that the movie is able to override the occasional implausibility or touch of melodrama that wanders into the storyline.

I just wish American movies about teenagers were this thought-provoking, interesting and impressive.