The Forest for the Trees (2003)
"Der Wald vor lauter Bäumen" (original title)

As an awkward idealistic high school teacher begins her first job in the city, things turn out to be much tougher than she had imagined.

Director:

Maren Ade

Writer:

Maren Ade

Stars:

Eva Löbau, Daniela Holtz, Jan Neumann

5 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Eva Löbau	...	Melanie Pröschle
Daniela Holtz	...	Tina Schaffner
Jan Neumann	...	Thorsten Rehm
Ilona Schulz	...	Frau Sussmann (as Ilona Christina Schulz)
Robert Schupp	...	Tobias
Heinz Röser-Dümmig	...	Lutger Reinhardt
Martina Eckrich	...	Renate Pföhler
Nina Fiedler	...	Bine
Hans-Rüdiger Kucich	...	Gerd Postweiler
Ruth Köppler	...	Elvira Fischer-Walter
Achim Enchelmaier	...	Bernd
Monika Hirschle	...	Melanies Mutter
Volker Jeck	...	Melanies Vater
Hans-Peter Gastiger	...	Recycler
Andreas Bornhardt	...	Garden Center Worker

Storyline

As an awkward idealistic high school teacher begins her first job in the city, things turn out to be much tougher than she had imagined.

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Plot Keywords:

school | teacher | boredom | tennis court | mousetrap | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

Germany

Language:

German

Release Date:

27 January 2005 (Germany)

Also Known As:

The Forest for the Trees

Filming Locations:

Baden-Baden, Baden-Württemberg, Germany

Company Credits

Production Co:

Komplizen Film, Südwestrundfunk (SWR), KaufmannWöbke GbR

Technical Specs

Runtime:

81 min 81 min (Buenos Aires Festival Internacional de Cine Independiente)

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The school scenes were shot at the school where the director's mother was teaching. Both of her parents are teachers.

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Connections

References Sex and the City (1998)

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Soundtracks

"He's Simple, He's Dumb, He's The Pilot"
Performed by Grandaddy
Courtesy of V2
Written by Jason Lytle
Published by BMG Songs, Inc. o/b/o Genghis Music, Deadlineless & Jason Lytle

User Reviews

wow

The first few minutes of the film, i couldn't get over the 30fps video hand-held format. I was thinking, "are they crazy? at least shoot 24p..." But soon enough, the story sucked me into Melanie's plight settling into a new environment, struggling with loneliness, desperation, and upholding her facade of "everything is fine," when everyone knows that she is physically and emotionally deteriorating. I thought that the acting was superb. Not once did I feel like the actors were acting, but the video format and the emotions elicited conveyed a painful sense of realism.

This film touches upon a universal struggle of the human condition in such a realistic, frustrating, and true-to-life approach. Her inner tug of war is something that all of us have experienced at one point or another to some degree of severity.

It is truly a touching story.

I haven't felt such pity, frustration, empathy, and genuine identification with the protagonist in a long time.

Find this film and go see it.