The life of Hans Scholz (Herbert Knaup) got into trouble. He doesn’t care about anyone, not even himself. Interpersonal contacts have become rare. He has given up looking for a job anyway, he lives more badly than good for the day. However, when he finds an infant that someone has put in the garbage can, he instinctively takes it. What’s more, he decides to raise it himself. He is supported by his friend Wenzel (Thomas Thieme), but also the Tarsis (Mohammad-Ali Behboudi, Naomi Krauss), the Iranian couple next door. But the police have been looking for the little girl for a long time…
Dare to live again
In recent years there have been a number of films in which older characters dare to start over again or take their lives in a different direction. This usually happens for a rather unpleasant reason, the change is one that happens out of a certain compulsion. at dance to life or Britt-Marie was here the protagonists had to realize that their longtime spouses had cheated on them. But it doesn’t always have to be like that. A much more positive and self-determined example is lucky childin which a defenseless child becomes an incentive to get one’s own life under control.
The fact that something is amiss does that ARD-Drama visible at first glance: Herbert Knaup is initially hardly recognizable as a run-down rascal with a disheveled beard. Only gradually does man become recognizable behind this decay. At the same time, of course, this external transformation also reflects the aforementioned internal transformation. If Hans Scholz is initially someone who has nothing to do with anyone and doesn’t want to have anything to do with it, the baby becomes a life’s work for him. But he doesn’t just see it as an obligation: after all, he could have taken the child to the police. lucky child rather describes how the protagonist sees this encounter as an opportunity and awakens a longing in him.
Solid with feel-good elements
How it came to be that Scholz is in such an abyss is not initially clear. The story gets right in the middle and presents the audience with a fait accompli. You’ll find out a little more later. Nevertheless, one should not expect a sophisticated psychogram here. lucky child goes more in a feel-good direction and therefore avoids engaging too much with the abysses. Especially towards the end there is a bit of fluff, so that the audience can start the rest of the day happily. The adaptation of the novel of the same name by Steven Uhly makes it quite easy and is not interested in whether the whole thing is still somehow plausible.
For this renounced director and screenwriter Michael Verhoeven (The White Rose) in its film adaptation of the icing kitsch that one might expect from such a film. lucky child is rather reserved, especially for a production of public television. That makes him very comfortable. And the acting performances also contribute to the drama being at least solid. In contrast to the protagonist, for whom the encounter becomes an event that changes everything, you will not necessarily take anything with you for the rest of your life. Individual moments stand out a little more if they are a bit particularly bizarre or if they sometimes get down to business emotionally. However, the fluctuations are not too great, neither in one nor in the other direction.
OT: “lucky child”
Land: Deutschland
Year: 2014
Director: Michael Verhoeven
Script: Michael Verhoeven
Template: Steven Uhly
Music: Jörg Lemberg
Camera: Conny Janssen
Occupation: Herbert Knaup, Thomas Thieme, Alice Dwyer, Mohammad-Ali Behboudi, Naomi Krauss
These links are so-called affiliate links. If you make a purchase through this link, we will receive a commission at no additional cost to you. This way you can support our site.
