Horst in Translation ([email protected])
"Blueprint" is a German movie from 2003, so this one will have its 15th anniversary next year. The director is Rolf Schübel and this film of slightly under 110 minutes is one of his most known works. The same is probably true for the two writers Fischer and Kerner, but for lead actress Franka Potente it probably is not. I find it a bit surprising as she has quite a challenge in here and does a good job with it. I generally don't think she is that great or nowhere near the top of German actresses, but I found her convincing here and she is more memorable than in a certain movie with a certain hair color that's the only memorable aspect about her in that one. But back to this one here. If she holds her own next to Ulrich Thomsen, then that's a respectable achievement. German film buffs will find more familiar faces in here like Justus von Dohnányi for example.Now about the film itself: It is the story of the first human being who gets cloned and it is of course Potente's character. The musical talent of her adds another interesting shade to the whole endeavor. I think this could have been a really uninteresting film if they had focused mostly on the scientific aspect here, but the fact that instead they emphasized the interpersonal conflicts this entire projects brings with them, I found it a more rewarding watch. Also the scientist's part was relevant with the writers concentrating on his intention to reap the honors and results of what he saw. It's all working very well. I think the interactions between mother and child were better when the child was still young and there was one moment I really loved, namely when we see the mothers interact with their children when there is danger for the clone to being injured. This is a moment when it is really all us seeing how flawed and lacking harmony Potente's character's relationship to her daughter is, even if her intentions aren't bad. It's just a huge enigma what could happen to the daughter and how fragile her health may or may not be.Finally, this film was a bit of a positive surprise for me. I had little interest in the subject of cloning before it and I cannot say it raised my interest, but as I already described earlier, this is also never the film's intention. It also doesn't make a statement about cloning being right or wrong and I like that too. It's much more of a family story and the unusual biological context is just the frame, not the color itself if you treat the film like a painting. Acting's good, writing's good and the atmosphere works well from start to finish. Yes there aren't really any great moments in here I guess, but it's a satisfying watch nonetheless. Go check it out.
Jannik Baur
As a German, I am quite proud of movies from my native country. Sure, German films aren't as successful as American or French films, nor did they revolutionized a specific genre, like the Italian spaghetti-westerns, but compared to many countries, German movies have high production values. So, naturally, let me review the worst German film I have seen.Blueprint is a drama, directed by Rolf Schübel, based on a novel written by Charlotte Kerner, by the same name. The film is about cloning, and which struggles someone has to face, when being the perfect clone of another person. The main character, Iris Sellin (played by Franka Potente) is a famous and successful pianist, who has multiple sclerosis. To prevent her from dying, she decides to take part in a scientific experiment, which makes her able to clone herself, to let her piano talent transport to her clone (just don't ask). After 13 years her clone, Siri (oh, how very creative), finds out that she isn't a normal, individual child, but rather a cloned, younger version of her mother (because she couldn't figure that out earlier, based on her facial features, her piano talent without learning and that her name is just her mother's name in reverse). The plot is very predictable, pseudo-dramatic, pseudo-tragic and pseudo-society-critical. There are also too many sub-plots, pointless characters and plot-holes.The acting in Blueprint is just terrible! Franka Potente both plays Iris and adult Siri. Even if the movie is supposed to be a drama, Potente is just emotionless all the time. Ullrich Thomsen, who plays the scientists, who clones Iris, also has a very boring and pointless role. However, it's the character Greg Lucas (who doesn't even appear in the novel), played by Hilmir Snær Guðnason, that annoys me the most. Terrible acting, stupid dialog and no significance to the plot whatsoever, contribute to one of the worst characters I have ever seen in a movie.In total, this was one of the worst films I have ever seen. It isn't even bad in a funny kind of way, so it doesn't even qualify as fun trash. A boring, nonsensical story, with amateur acting and idiotic characters. It tries too hard, to be intelligent or deep, but fails to deliver. 1/10
minordilemma
I think that the previous commenter was on something because the issue of the wig or of the "wax model" of Franka Potente are both ludicrous, and do not exist in the film. Franka is fantastic in her dual role, displaying an emotional range that was both understated and wholly believable. The most interesting and daring aspect of the film was the fact that it did not delve into being a straight-up sci-fi flick. The futuristic aspects were subtle and well-induced to the world of the film. The pop songs that bookend the film reek of cheese but beyond that this is a great film that is worth seeing, if you can find it. I had to get it on Japanese import but it was well worth it. Franka Potente is the cat's meow.
HBB
The subject certainly is interesting, the plot has a solid pace. It's not all that often you see an actor/actress play the piano herself, on screen (save for the close-up in real difficult pieces), and come across as actually believable. Franka Potente does, and for both that and the plot I'd have like to give this one a vote of 8. But...Unfortunately, the make-up department and the special effects crew committed some major crimes of negligence. First, the hair-do of supporting actress Katja Studt playing her role at an advanced age are almost _unbelievably_ bad. It really looks as if someone just jumped into a wig shop on their way to some other, more important business, and took the first one they saw without ever even thinking about how it'd look on a freckled redhead like her. I've seen carnival wigs look more believable than that one.The other major downfall is an overwhelmingly obvious wax puppet of Franka Potente in a scene where both of her personae are on screen at the same time. I found it looked un-natural enough that it managed to drop the whole scene dead in its tracks. Couldn't help but stare at that puppet instead of paying attention to the movie itself.Let-downs like that invoke the feeling you're watching a massively under-financed B-movie or student production. If you're a fan of Franka Potente and can tolerate some bad craft work, you'll quite probably like this movie a lot. I didn't.
