Kalt ist der Abendhauch (2000)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

Rainer Kaufmann

Writers:

Ralf Hertwig (book)
Ingrid Noll (novel)

Release Date:

21 September 2000 (Germany)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Manchmal braucht man ein ganzes Leben, um fünf Minuten glücklich zu sein.

Plot:

Love story spanning 60 years of the lives of Charlotte and Hugo. As a teenager before the war she is in love with him...

Plot Keywords:

Claim In Title | Based On Book | Based On Novel

Awards:

2 wins

Cast

Heinz Bennent	...	Hugo Wimmer (alt)
Gisela Trowe	...	Charlotte Hoffmann (alt)
August Diehl	...	Hugo Wimmer (jung)
Fritzi Haberlandt	...	Charlotte Hoffmann (jung)
André Hennicke	...	Bernhard
Ingo Naujoks	...	Anton
Vadim Glowna	...	Eberhard Hoffmann
Elisabeth Trissenaar	...	Charlotte's Mother
Gisela Schneeberger	...	Regine
Georgia Stahl	...	Ida Hoffmann
Devid Striesow	...	Ernst-Ludwig Hoffmann
David Stoy	...	Albert Hoffmann
Fabian Busch	...	Felix
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Harald Glitz	...	Kunde
Jean-Luc Julien	...	US Soldier (voice)
Rüdiger Rudolph

Also Known As:

Cold Is the Breath of Evening (International: English title)
Cold Is the Evening Breeze (Germany) (Berlin film festival title)

Runtime:

124 min

Country:

Germany

Language:

German

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Singapore:PG (cut) | Germany:12 (bw)

Filming Locations:

Leipzig, Saxony, Germany

Company:

Senator Film Produktion

Movie Connections:

References Werner - Beinhart! (1990)

nice but inconsistent

"Kalt ist der Abendhauch" (which could be translated as "cold is the evening air") is a very nicely shot movie about two lovers which spans more than 50 years from the 30s to the present time. Charlotte, an old woman, is expecting a visit from her old friend Hugo and in several flashbacks she remembers the story of her life as a girl living in Berlin at the start of the Nazi reign, when she fell in love with her brother-in-law Hugo. Their love affair is intense but unhappy, since Charlotte´s sister suffers from MS and Hugo is not able to stand up to his true feelings. Unfortunately, the good and at times well-used flashback technique shows several flaws where the plot doesn´t seem to be quite as logic as it should be. For example why doesn´t Hugo marry Charlotte immediately after her sister´s death? Anyway, this is the chance for both to meet again after 50 years and they spend, well, let´s say hilarious days together with getting rid of the corpse of Charlotte´s husband (he returned as POW and got accidently killed by her as he tried to rape her...and is buried in the cellar!) which makes a really macabre but "funny" scene. All in all, a very enjoyable movie, sometimes a bit lengthy and not always logic.