A gentle, thoughtful  film that makes points without making a lot of noise – taking us to a location we don’t know and giving us characters we’d like to know

Jürgen Prochnow (Das Boot, Dune) stars as Konrad, a cantankerous old man still mourning his wife’s death, living alone in a large house with little but a tropical fish tank for company. If it instantly feels almost too familiar,  then you’ve recently seen  A Man Called Otto with Tom Hanks.

“At the other end of town, 11-year-old Thurba (Milena Pribek) has other problems: the police are at the door and want to deport and resettle her Yemeni family to Bulgaria. But that only works if all the children are there, so the resourceful young girl jumps from the second floor and runs away to seek shelter and food in Konrad’s basement.

 Unfortunately, and much to his horror, thinking Thurba is a burglar, he accidentally injures her. From there – and despite his initial rejections – the unlikely pair strikes up a tender friendship that will changes both of their lives forever. Featuring stellar performances by Prochnow, Pegah Ferydoni (Women Without Men), and Milena Pribak in her acting debut, this poignant first feature from Jakob Zapf is a timely and heartfelt story of courage and compassion.”

Prochnow’s pefomance would have been a bettechoice fo Hanks to have followed in Otto, but whatever.

The narrative moves at a delibeate pace – it’s dynamic range is athe steady.That’s not a criticism.  I liked the way it it moved and the ending – whethe you predicted it in the fist act o not, it doesn’t matte. It’s still an elegant,  pefect ending.

 Premiered on IndiePix Unlimited on 4/7