the leading man is my tpye

Brilliant and touching

It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

"Alles wird gut" or "Everything Will Be Okay" is a German/Austrian co-production from last year (2015) that resulted in a half-hour live action short film that managed to impress awards bodies all over the planet. The movie is entirely in German language, so you may want to get subtitles. The writer and director is Patrick Vollrath, who has been writing and directing short films since 2009 already, bus this one here is easily his biggest success so far. And the reason is that his effort was nominated for an Academy Award. And even if he lost to "Stutterer", it is still a great achievement. This is the story of a desperate father who tries to fly out of the country with his young daughter because his ex-wife is about to assure he does not get to see her daughter anymore. Is the title true and will everything really be okay eventually? Watch for yourself and do not keep reading this review if you want to avoid spoilers.The sad thing about this short film is that even if the daughter is safe that there are really only losers eventually here, most of all the father and also the daughter because this day was probably a traumatic event that she will always remember. I think Simon Schwarz does a pretty good job, but that's no surprise looking at his long and successful career. The child actress is Julia Pointness and she gives one of the best child performances of 2015 for sure. Her work should not be discredited because it is "only" a short film. The best thing about the film is probably the emotional moment when Schwarz' character confesses at the end that he has nobody and nothing besides her in life. The weakest moment is perhaps when the daughter tells him that he has to admit that he made something wrong and regret it. This did not feel like an authentic kid's reaction at that point. Overall, however, the good outweighs the bad and I am fine with the film's Academy Award nomination. It's maybe not good enough to win, but then again it's at least as good as the winner I mentioned earlier. Plus, the subject here (fathers' rights) is probably a lot more relevant. Go see it! You will not be disappointed.

Alles wird gut (2015) *** 1/2 (out of 4) Divorced father Michael (Simon Schwarz) picks up his daughter Lea (Julia Pointner) just like he does every other weekend. It starts off as a fun time as the two visit a toy store but soon the daughter begins to realize that this day isn't like the normal visitations.ALLES WIRD GUT is the German short that received a Best Short nomination and it's a pretty powerful film even though I thought it ran a tad bit long at 30 minutes. There's no doubt that director Patrick Vollrath did an excellent job at keeping the viewer in the dark for the first ten minutes before revealing the twist of what was really happening. Another major strong point are the two performances with both Schwarz and Pointner doing excellent work. I thought Pointner was extremely believable as the confused daughter who soon realizes what her father's intentions are.

This German language film is shot mostly from the viewpoint of the young girl, a child of about 7. Her parents are apparently divorced and her father has come to take her for the weekend. She's happy to see him and they seem to have a good relationship. However, through the course of their time together, it slowly becomes apparent that he's not telling her everything...and he appears to be abducting her to keep her mother from having custody of her. It takes a while for the girl to understand this, though eventually the horror of her situation sets in.This was the second depressing short of the show. Considering it's about kidnapping, it couldn't help but be depressing and your heart really starts pounding towards the big finale. I doubt if this one will win but it is well made. The biggest strike against it is that a lot of viewers might be a bit disappointed because so much about the story seems missing and it leaves you wanting to know more. But on the other hand, the little girl in the film was brilliant...absolutely amazing in her ability to act and act convincingly. I'd really love to see what this young lady is doing in films in the future.I'll make sure to update you as to whether or not this film ends up winning the Oscar for Best Live-Action Short.UPDATE: "Stutterer" took the Oscar for Best Live Action Short.

Greetings again from the darkness. Dramatic short films are challenged with generating an ultra-quick connection with viewers. German director Patrick Vollrath begins the film by showing a man anxiously pacing and buzzing the gate bell outside a suburban home. Our instincts that tell us he must be in some kind of trouble fade a bit when an 8 year old girl runs into his arms exclaiming "Daddy!" Lea (newcomer Julia Pointer) clearly loves her father, and we quickly figure out this must be the scheduled every other weekend visit resulting from a recent divorce. Lea's excitement is palpable as they stop off at a toy store where her dad tells her she can pick out any two items she wants. A simple gesture that's probably repeated thousands of times each weekend, re-ignites the instincts we felt in the opening scene. Some "little" hints confirm our suspicion as the two hurriedly rush to an appointment at a government office and then on to the airport.Simon Schwarz plays Michael Baumgartner, the dad who transitions from anxious to warm/loving to purely desperate. His performance, and that of young Ms. Pointer, are realistic and so spot on that we as viewers are sympathetic to both. It's an exceptionally tense and dramatic half-hour reminding us that in a broken family, it's rarely the case that "everything will be okay", and sometimes things escalate into a literal tug-of-war that is heart-breaking. This is expert work from a filmmaker that understands the magic of short films, and it's little wonder the film has been so well received at AFI, Cannes and numerous other festivals.