Honig im Kopf - Blu-ray

Film: Since the death of his wife, Amandus (Dieter Hallervorden) is increasingly degrading. More and more often he forgets things and he becomes increasingly a burden for his anxious son Niko (Til Schweiger) and especially for his daughter-in-law Sarah (Jeanette Hain). She would rather send the old man to a nursing home today than tomorrow - a thought that Niko is not quite ready to accept. Especially since his daughter Tilda (Emma Schweiger) has a very special relationship with her grandfather. While her parents argue more and more often, the eleven-year-old girl enjoys every second she gets to spend with her beloved grandfather. When she realizes what it means that Amandus has honey in his head, she desperately wants to grant him his very greatest wish: to see Venice for once! And while Niko and Sarah are only busy with themselves, Tilda and Amandus sneak out of the house and set off on an adventurous journey, always in a race against the ever-advancing oblivion...

With Honig im Kopf Til Schweiger has once again struck a chord with his audience. The film was able to lure over 7 million viewers into the cinemas - and most of them were absolutely thrilled by the touching story. It is indeed the case that Honig im Kopf is Schweiger's most mature and best film to date from a dramaturgical point of view. However, it should never be forgotten that this is not a documentary drama, but an exaggerated entertainment film - even if some aspects of the subject of Alzheimer's are depicted quite realistically and authentically. Those who accept this will also be able to overlook some of the somewhat platitudinous or striking moments.

In terms of acting, Dieter Hallervorden ensures that the viewer is served up great cinema here. Hallervorden plays the role with a sensitivity that the screenplay lacks at times. Because overall, the film suffers from exactly the weaknesses that Til Schweiger has always exhibited in his role as director. Subtlety is simply not his strong point - and that's exactly what the film could have used very well in some places. Schweiger also likes to go overboard with the humor. Sarah's reaction to Amandus' gardening is silly, to say the least, and frighteningly overplayed. And the classy garden party also culminates in a completely unnecessary fireworks finale that is simply poorly executed. For the fact that the person responsible for the fireworks calmly pees in the hedges, while next to him already the first fountains go up, and he apparently does not notice this, only so that there can be a little later as spectacular as possible slow motion sequence, does not exactly testify to high directorial art.

Some completely unnecessary scenes, which actually only serve to let as many prominent guest stars appear, tarnish the otherwise very positive overall impression as well as tough subplots. Here, a good 20 minutes could have fallen victim to the scissors without the story suffering - on the contrary! Also the so popular for Schweiger films underpainting of scenes with somehow always the same sounding pop songs lacks a creative development of the filmmaker Til Schweiger. But even though all these may be justified points of criticism, it is actually completely pointless to bring them up. Because fans of Til Schweiger - and as we all know there are a lot of them - simply don't mind them. They like the films as they are. And even if not everyone can understand this and some find it sad that very good stories can never unfold their full potential under Schweiger's direction, his films have their raison d'être precisely because of their extremely high popularity.

Honig im Kopf may not be a perfect film. It may not even be a very good film in places. But it hits its target audience right in the heart, gives them two hours of really great feelings and a wonderful Dieter Hallervorden. And precisely because of this, there were not only in the cinema over 7 million enthusiastic viewers, but also for the home theater version a deserved: worth seeing!

Picture + Sound: The meanwhile typical for Til Schweiger's films alienated, dipped in warm sepia tones color scheme comes on the Blu-ray well. The image is also very clean and the overall sharpness is at a good to very good level. The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 is also convincing. The fact that the music is occasionally mixed a little too loud is also one of the stylistic devices Til Schweiger likes to use and should therefore not be judged as negative (at least not in technical terms).

Extras: The good bonus offer begins with an informative audio commentary by Til Schweiger and screenwriter Hilly Martinek. In the commentary, Schweiger reveals an unexpected knack for subtle irony. In addition, of course, there are plenty of the usual praises for cast, crew and himself. But the commentary is not uninteresting in many places. For fans absolutely worth hearing and enlightening. A nice team film (approx. 14:44 min.) then captures the atmosphere during the filming and introduces the members of the film team in the process. Nine short behind the scenes clips then offer a glimpse at the actual filming of certain scenes (approx. 13:37 mins), before some amusing outtakes (approx. 16:38 mins), the trailer for the film and two music videos round off the supplementary package. Good!

Conclusion: Honig im Kopf is one of the biggest successes for Til Schweiger, with over 7 million moviegoers. Despite all (partly justified) criticism, he seems to hit a nerve with the audience. And even if the film has unnecessary lengths and some clear weaknesses in craftsmanship, the story touches many viewers so much that they are happy to overlook. A movie doesn't have to be perfect and doesn't have to please everyone in order to be a success. And you really can't deny Honey in the Head that. The audiovisual realization of the Blu-ray is absolutely coherent and the bonus material should satisfy every fan. For this there is then also a deserved: Recommendable!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp