"The Runaway" (Ausreißer)" seems at first as if it's going to be that tried and true tired story that goes at least as far back as Shirley Temple of the adorable moppet melting the heart of a rigid grump.
But the director Ulrike Grote does get us caught up in the frustrations of the guy having one of those annoying days where everything seems to be going wrong.
The turning point is when Linus Foerster's script has a sudden revelation about the connections between the characters that makes us think we are moving at least into Ruth Rendell mystery territory and maybe into M. Night Shyamalan or Ambrose Bierce twists, but with even more humanity.
The lead actor is key in making us believe how reflections about the collision of his past and present change him. There was some disagreement in the audience about exact concluding plot points and realism vs. magic realism, but any interpretation seemed to satisfy each audience member.
The Hamburg locales are used quite beautifully.
It is very possible that the film's Oscar chances could be hurt by the awful English subtitles that eschew capitalization and punctuation.
I viewed this film as part of a commercial screening of the five Oscar nominated Live Action shorts.
