Swans (2011)

Manuel's mother, Petra, lives in Berlin. She is in a coma as a result of chemotherapy treatment. Tarso and Petra have been divorced since Manuel (17) was 3 years old. Manuel and Tarso come ... See full summary »

Directors:

Hugo Vieira da Silva, Heidi Wilm

Writer:

Hugo Vieira da Silva (screenplay)

Stars:

Kai Hillebrand, Ralph Herforth, Maria Schuster

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kai Hillebrand	...	Manuel (as Kai Hillebrandt, Kai Hillebrand)
Ralph Herforth	...	Tarso
Maria Schuster	...	Petra
Vasupol Siriviriyapoon	...	Kim (as Vasupol Siriviriypoon, Vasupol Siriviriyapoon)
Eva Kryll	...	Ärztin
Cornelius Schwalm	...	Heilpraktiker
Christian Schwarz	...	Andreas
Anne Rathsfeld	...	Krankenschwester
Robert Lohr	...	Polizist
Wanja Götz	...	Polizist #1
Nino Ullmann	...	Skater #1
Mack McKelton	...	Skater #2
Martin Gregor	...	Skater #3
Linda Runge	...	Krankenschwester #1
Ulla Bischoff	...	Krankenschwester #2

Storyline

Manuel's mother, Petra, lives in Berlin. She is in a coma as a result of chemotherapy treatment. Tarso and Petra have been divorced since Manuel (17) was 3 years old. Manuel and Tarso come to Germany to be with Petra during her illness. They stay together in her old apartment. Another woman also occasionally lives there: Kim, a beautiful, enigmatic and aloof Asian. Petra's disease is of no interest to Manuel whereas Tarso visits Petra obsessively in the clinic. Sharing the same space with Tarso is hard for Manuel. Their previous relationship was based on 'visits only'. Manuel is overcome by a sense of emptiness. Meanwhile, Manuel develops an erotic desire for Kim, in fact a transsexual, who helps him discover Petra's body...

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

Germany Portugal

Language:

German

Release Date:

14 July 2011 (Germany)

Also Known As:

Labedzie

Filming Locations:

Berlin, Germany

Company Credits

Production Co:

Flying Moon Filmproduktion, Contracosta Produções, Post Republic, The

Technical Specs

Runtime:

121 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

User Reviews

Life is a ...

You know bleak movies are not there to be entertaining from the get go. It's not a happy-go-lucky film. It has light moments of course and I won't be telling you what direction it decides to go (and if that was a wise choice or not). What I can tell you though is that the direction, the script and unfortunately the acting, is not really up there to match any viewing experience that might warrant anyone to watch it.

There are loose strings in the story, there are things happening that seem not to connect with anything in there and there are many other things that may make you think why watched the movie in the first place. Now I do believe in good intentions and I am pretty sure the filmmaker at hand, wanted to tell a personal story (with a personal touch to it). While I admire the fact that he didn't try to make it commercial, I also have to admit, that I don't think this will really appeal to a lot of people.