Die wilden Kerle - Alles ist gut, solange du wild bist! (2003)

User Rating:

4.8/10   

Director:

Joachim Masannek

Writer:

Joachim Masannek (writer)

Release Date:

2 October 2003 (Austria)

Genre:

Family

Plot Keywords:

Claim In Title | Soccer Football | Moped | Treehouse | Children

Awards:

3 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Jimi Blue Ochsenknecht	...	Leon
Raban Bieling	...	Raban
Sarah Kim Gries	...	Vanessa
Constantin Gastmann	...	Fabi
Wilson Gonzalez Ochsenknecht	...	Marlon
Marlon Wessel	...	Maxi
Jonathan Beck	...	Juli
Kevin Iannotta	...	Joschka
Leon Wessel-Masannek	...	Markus
Filippo Dattola	...	Jojo
Florian Heppert	...	Dicker Michi
Nicolas Michalczewski	...	Sense
Rufus Beck	...	Willi
Cornelia Froboess	...	Vanessas Oma
Uwe Ochsenknecht	...	Maxis Vater

Also Known As:

Die wilden Kerle (Germany) (short title)
The Wild Soccer Bunch (International: English title)

Runtime:

Germany:94 min

Country:

Germany

Language:

German

Color:

Color

Certification:

Switzerland:8 (canton of Zurich) | Netherlands:AL | Germany:o.Al. (w)

Filming Locations:

Prague, Czech Republic

Company:

SamFilm Produktion

Movie Connections:

Followed by Die wilden Kerle 3 (2006)

Soundtrack:

Wild wie wir

"Manni, der Libero" meets "Die Vorstadtkrokodile"

It seems to me that the people who made this movie firmly believe that a football (as a European I refuse to use the term soccer ;-) is a much better toy for a ten year-old child than, say, a Playstation and that children not only can but should get dirty while playing. Therefore the movie is refreshingly reminiscent of the children's movies of the 70s, such as "Vorstadtkrokodile". The "wild blokes" (that's what "Wilde Kerle" translates to) use swear-words, they don't always obey their parents, they have tests of courage and there is no stay-at-home or well-behaved mummy's darling to be found anywhere. In other words: As a child I would have LOVED this film and as an adult I still find it very entertaining and worth seeing.

The minor complaint I have refers to the often unnatural dialogue. It's not the fault of the children that made up words like "Hottentottenalptraumnacht" sound stilted and strange; grown-up actors also would have trouble saying lines like this.

Finally I have to say that I like how this film seems to be a real family affair. Because he was unhappy with the way football is taught to children in the F-youth of professional clubs, the director Joachim Massanek founded and coached a "little league" football team for his sons and the children of some of his friends (also called "Die wilden Kerle") and later wrote successful children's books about their adventures. In the film the characters Raban, Maxi, Markus and Juli are played by some of the real "wilde Kerle". Other members of the team are played by the sons of Uwe Ochsenknecht and Rufus Beck (Willi).

Bottom line: This is a film not only for children but for anyone who remembers what it was like to play football at the pitch around the corner every afternoon after school.