The Houston-Leipzig Sister City Association cordially invites you to Honig im Kopf, the first movie in its summers series (German with English subtitles), on Thursday, June 9, 2016, at 6:30 p.m., at the American Red Cross, 2700 Southwest Freeway, Houston, TX 77098. Registration begins at 6:15 p.m., our food and beverage reception at 6:30 p.m., and the program at 7:00 p.m. Cost for the meeting is $10 for members, $15 for nonmembers, and $5 for students. There is plenty of free parking.
Please RSVP now to President Kathy at kathy@houstonleipzig.org, so that we can plan properly for the meeting.
“Germany’s box-office champion Til Schweiger appears to have gotten his mojo back,” said one critic after the movie Honig im Kopf – Head Full of Honey was released, and obviously the jury thought so too, because the film was one of the eight finalists shortlisted by Germany to be their submission for the Academy Award for the Best Foreign Language film in 2016. The film has been enormously successful in Europe and abroad, and now an American remake is planned with Michael Douglas as Amandus and Matt Damon as Niko.
Honig im Kopf is a bittersweet movie that tells the story of retired veterinarian Amandus and his 11-year old granddaughter Tilda as they go on Grandpa’s last adventure – a trip to Venice, the place where he and his wife met and fell in love. His wife has died, and he finds himself lost without her, and worse, he is losing his memories. Once the humorous and beloved head of his family, Amandus can no longer live by himself, and moves in with his son Niko, daughter-in-law Sarah, and Tilda. Niko’s and Sarah’s marriage has its own problems, and they are not equipped to deal with an aging father, Alzheimer’s disease, and a host of other problems. Rather than let her grandfather be put into a nursing home, Tilda somewhat kidnaps him and they take off for Venice. Only the child Tilda can deal with him and his disease, as she looks at it with the eyes of a child and a kind of humor and sensitivity that makes it easier to deal with Amandus when he is lost in his new own world. This special connection and plenty of funny and wistful moments approach the disease in a humorous but emotional way, without forgetting about its tragedy.
The film stars beloved German comedian Dieter Hallervorden as Amandus, and Emma Schweiger, Til Schweiger’s daughter, as Tilda.
Bring a friend, bring a neighbor, and join us on Thursday for this unique and moving film.