Mr. Kaplan

Jacob Kaplan (Héctor Noguera) is frustrated: he's 76 years old and living a quiet life in Montevideo. That's no reason to be unhappy, after all. But Jacob is annoyed by the fact that he has not accomplished a single heroic deed in his 76 years. The world hasn't gotten any better because of him. And he simply can't and won't live out his twilight years with that feeling. But then he hears a rumour from his niece that a German Nazi has been living a carefree life on the coast of Uruguay for years. Now Jacob sees his chance has come: he wants to heroically expose the man and bring him to his just punishment. But he can't do it all by himself, so he enlists the help of ex-policeman Wilson (Néstor Guzzini) in his Nazi hunt. In fact, they get on the trail of the German (Rolf Becker). But their plan to kidnap him and hand him over to the Israeli authorities turns out to be much more complicated than previously thought...

With Señor Kaplan, director Alvaro Brechner attempts to treat serious subjects with understated, enigmatic humor. In doing so, he almost entirely avoids overly obvious laughs. Instead, he relies on quiet punchlines that leave the audience smiling in amusement. Immersed in wonderful images and warm colors, a certain lightness is achieved, which was not necessarily to be expected given the motives of the story. It's about old people who have been sidelined by society and are desperately searching for a meaning to their existence. It's about an ex-cop's desperate attempt to get back on his feet after a deep fall and thus save his broken family. And finally, it's about atoning for Nazi crimes.

It's to Brechner's credit that he manages to integrate all of these themes into the action with a humorous lightness, without ever letting his film degenerate into a flat comedy. He strikes a very good balance between humor and drama, which is also conveyed very well by the actors. However, it also has to be said that there are some very plodding moments, especially in the middle section, which take away from the momentum the whole thing needs. A little more pace and esprit would have certainly done the production good in the end.

However, Señor Kaplan is not aiming at a mainstream audience either. The film is clearly aimed at lovers of more subtle program cinema fare. And they will hardly be bothered by some of the more unwieldy moments. Nevertheless, with a little more mischievous wit and a little less length, the attempt of a pensioner to accomplish something heroic in his old age would certainly have become great cult cinema. As it is, the whole thing is just very nice entertainment for a niche audience. But since this is really well served, there is therefore also a very clear bottom line: worth seeing

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp