KRABAT

Directed by: Marco Kreuzpaintner

The film says that it is an adaptation from a classical book in German, well I never know or read the book so I went to the cinema with no knowledge at all, hoping that the cinema will present the film in its original language, German. Lucky for me it wasn't dubbed at all, so I can enjoy the real language and I can still understand spoken German.

Like most European movies I have seen, the music score is outstanding, I never thought that this film has an impressive score. The cinematography is outstanding and images are beautiful. I like the aerial shot, and seeing that, if there is a film consisted of only aerial shot of anything, I will watch it. Kreuzpaintner succeed in mixing scenes and music score.

As for the actors, they are no stranger to me, I have seen Daniel Brühl in Goodbye Lenin! and Die Fetten Jahre sind vorbei, Robert Stadlober in Schwarze Schafe and Sommersturm (the latter from the same director with this film) and David Kross from The Reader.

The story itself looks good, after his mother died because of Black Death in the 17th century (I am no expert on European history, so correct me if I'm wrong), 14 year old Krabat (David Kross) wander from village to village as a beggar. Until someday he heard a voice that lead him into a mill where he met a master (Christian Redl) who ask him to be one of his student. It turns out that there are other students, 11 of them, like the younger version of Bon Jovi, Lyschko (Robert Stadlober), and Tonda (Daniel Brühl) who befriends Krabat. The mill has a secret and as Krabat uncover it, he know he sign up for something dark. The mill is a magic school, dark magic which makes their work easier in the mill, magic that makes all of them fascinated. But behind that, lies another deadly secret. Like what Tonda says, "Everything in this world has its price".

With CGI and aerial shot, this film doesn't look cheap. But the ending is a bit confusing and less "flashy" or perhaps I am used to Hollywood ending where flashy stuff happens in the end. However, this film wasn't so bad at all, it has darker tone than Harry Potter and certainly not for children. In other words, it is a typical European film adapted from novel, with hints of philosophical points here and there.