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Krabat (2008, written by Michael Gutmann, Marco Kreuzpaintner, based on the novel by Otfried Preußler; directed by Marco Kreuzpaintner) is a fantasy film about a young man, who the film is named for, who is saved from poverty and homelessness. He is taken to a home where other young men are living and working for what turns out to be an evil sorcerer. Krabat is played by David Kross, who later in the year was seen alongside Kate Winslet in The Reader.

I liked it… it was a pretty entertaining watch. It’s very different from Kreuzpaintner’s two previous films, which were actually nothing alike… It plays out more like a drama than a traditional fantasy film, and there are small bits of action. The tone is pretty dark but not inappropriately so. I wouldn’t call this a kid’s film, but there’s not really anything really offensive in it. I did feel like the characters could have been developed a bit more, as it was a but unevenly story-driven. It does cover a variety of themes, though, and pretty well, such as the lure of evil, friendship, brotherhood and death – so it’s probably pretty appropriate for a mid-teen audience, but not young kids.

I’m a fan of Daniel Brühl so it was nice to see him co-starring. He and the director were present and did a Q&A after the screening, and here is a photo i snapped as we were all leaving the theatre:

I went to Lee’s Palace a couple of nights ago to see Friendly Fires and White Lies with Barb, Justin, John and Thilo. John loves Friendly Fires but unfortunately we only got to see a couple of songs when they opened for Lykke Li back in the spring. They were great and a lot of fun… and that singer does not stop dancing!

White Lies were good, too, but it’s difficult to compare the bands as they are so different. Friendly Fires clearly has more experience and is more comfortable on the stage. White Lies did a good job but I think they’ll be much more confident after a couple more tours. They looked exhausted and also a bit frightened! I’d been looking forward to seeing them and I clearly wasn’t the only one, seeing as the show was sold out.

Here are a few pics and videos that I took: