Der Wald vor lauter Bäumen (2003)

Director:

Maren Ade

Writer:

Maren Ade (writer)

Release Date:

27 January 2005 (Germany)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

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. |

Plot Keywords:

Teacher | School | False Friend | Neighbor | Voyeur

Awards:

5 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

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

Also Known As:

The Forest for the Trees (International: English title)

Runtime:

Germany:81 min | Argentina:81 min (Buenos Aires Festival Internacional de Cine Independiente)

Country:

Germany

Language:

German

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Brazil:14 | Germany:6 | Hong Kong:IIA | Argentina:13

Filming Locations:

Baden-Baden, Baden-Württemberg, Germany

Company:

Komplizen Film

Trivia:

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

Movie Connections:

References "Sex and the City" (1998)

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.