In this stop motion film from the Czech Republic, we meet the three siblings Tom, Suzanne and Derek. They have just arrived at their grandparents’ house with their mother, where the children are spending some time and Suzanne’s birthday is being celebrated. In the evening, the children make themselves comfortable under an apple tree with a tree house and the grandmother begins to tell one of her fantastic stories. However, it will be her last magical story. A scene jump follows, we find ourselves in a car and the mother asks her children to be considerate of their grandfather, who still finds it difficult that Grandma is no longer there.
Arriving at the house, the children spread out around the property. The youngest calls for his grandma at the front door, the eldest seeks refuge in the tree house where he wants to be alone and the middle child observes what is happening, while the grandfather retreats quietly into a small garden shed. There he uses every free minute to construct something mysterious.
In the evening, the children want to go to sleep with the old ritual of storytelling, but their grandfather refuses. Suzanne is not quite willing to accept this and when she discovers her grandmother’s straw hat high up on a cupboard, it inspires the girl to tell her very own stories. And so begins a short journey through three different stories, which has a magical effect on everyone involved.
Conclusion:
Stop motion films often have a very special charm and since the production costs are also very high, a lot of love is put into such a project. This can also be felt in this work from the Czech Republic. What is really special here is that the main story about the three children and the grandparents has been embellished with three further, very individual and magical stories. Despite the quite sad beginning (the suddenly deceased grandmother), the movie offers enough cheerful moments afterwards. As we all know, children can move mountains with their imagination and sometimes even broaden the horizons of us adults.
For me, the best detail in this film was the character of the grandfather, who is modeled exactly on the author of the book. And if you’re wondering about the many directors of this movie, I’m happy to provide you with the relevant information. Each director was responsible for one of the four stories (main story + the three mini-stories).
Actors:
Arnošt Goldflam (Grandfather)
Zuzana Kronerová (Grandmother)
Žofie Hánová (Suzanne)
Alex Mojžíš (Derek)
Mikuláš Čížek (Tom)
Pavla Beretová (Mother)
Ivan Trojan (Dan)
Dana Černá (Mother)
Regie:
David Súkup, Patrik Pašš, Leon Vidmar, Jean-Claude Rozec
Weitere Infos zum Film
https://www.berlinale.de/en/archive/archive-overview/welcome.html
