100 Movie Challenge 2014 - # 93: Heute Bin Ich Blond

Director: Marc Rothemund

Genre: Drama/ Comedy

Runtime: 113 minutes

Year: 2013

Starring: Lisa Tomaschewsky, Karoline Teska, David Rott, Alice Dwyer, Peter Prager, Maike Bollow, Daniel Zillmann, Alexander Held

Description: The true story of Sophie (Lisa Tomaschewsky) whose lust for life means she is determined to be so very much more than just another cancer patient.

Review: Sophie is 21, great future in sight and a great apartment in Hamburg is waiting for her, where she will move in with her best friend. Life is good: having fun, going out, sex with handsome men, no need for commitment. But that nasty cough won’t go away. After three months Sophie decides to go to the doctor. After some tests it turns out Sophie has an aggressive form of cancer, with only a 15 percent chance of surviving it. Instead of moving in to that great apartment, she has to spend time in a hospital room. When her hair starts falling out Sophie gets a wig. She thinks she looks like a Playmobil character, so her friend takes her out for a new wig. A whole world opens up for Sophie. For every mood, for every goal, there is a different wig: The red headed Sue is fearless, the blond Platina is a disco queen, and so she has nine of them.

“Heute Bin Ich Blond” is the German adaptation of the Dutch book “Het Meisje Met Negen Pruiken” by Sophie van der Stap. Director Marc Rothemund turns Sophies story into a distant movie, where the script is bouncing between drama and comedy. It’s not a tearjerker, although the theme does make you think that. It shows you what this decease does to a young girl.

Lisa Tomaschewsky, who place Sophie, is very convincing in the lighter scenes. In the more dramatic moments, it shows she is lacking experience. We never get to know the real Sophie, not only because of the wigs. What the director did very well is that you feel that insecurity and the fear Sophie feels.

I read the book and it really touched me. The movie also did, but not the way it should. “Heute Bin Ich Blond” is a pretty good attempt, but it could have been a lot better.

Rating: 2,5/ 5