"Milchwald" or "Verloren" or "This Very Moment" or "In This Very Moment" is a German 1.5-hour film from 2003 written and directed by Christoph Hochhäusler and this was his first full feature movie I think. He got help with the writing from Benjamin Heisenberg and their effort here will have its 15th anniversary next year. The cast does not really any particularly well-known names. Even I as a German film buff cannot say I am really familiar with the performers here. It is the story of a young stepmom dealing with her two stepchildren and she makes a really fateful decision as a consequence. This is somewhat the opening, the prologue here you could say, but it is also by far the best part of the film for sure. Afterward, the kids' biological father search for the two is in the center of it all as is the woman's longing for the father's affection as is the kids' fate. This is never a film that has us wonder if the kids will live or die or what exactly would happen to them as even after their disappearance they stay a vital part of the story. At least for us, the audience. For the parents characters not so much, at least not visually.
All in all, this film had a bit of a Wenders touch to it and for a first work, it is a pretty good achievement, even if Hochhäusler did not manage to keep the high level from early on. But I am not surprised his career has gotten better and better since this one and he is slowly making his way into the elite of German filmmakers. I also liked the atmospheric touch here. It is much more of a character study, of a family drama and it never tries to be a kidnapping thriller between life and death. And in my opinion that was really the right choice. So was the ending. No need to go for forced happy endings. Authenticity stays the most important component and the last shot was really good. The actors are all fairly solid too. They don't need to be likable to make an impact and this especially refers to the young girl. Everything here feels authentic like something that really could have happened and as if I was watching actual people. No doubt I give these almost 90 minutes a thumbs-up. It may not too easy these days anymore to get your hands on a copy for this one, especially abroad, but I think it is among the better for sure that German cinema had to offer in the year 2003. Go see it.
All in all, this film had a bit of a Wenders touch to it and for a first work, it is a pretty good achievement, even if Hochhäusler did not manage to keep the high level from early on. But I am not surprised his career has gotten better and better since this one and he is slowly making his way into the elite of German filmmakers. I also liked the atmospheric touch here. It is much more of a character study, of a family drama and it never tries to be a kidnapping thriller between life and death. And in my opinion that was really the right choice. So was the ending. No need to go for forced happy endings. Authenticity stays the most important component and the last shot was really good. The actors are all fairly solid too. They don't need to be likable to make an impact and this especially refers to the young girl. Everything here feels authentic like something that really could have happened and as if I was watching actual people. No doubt I give these almost 90 minutes a thumbs-up. It may not too easy these days anymore to get your hands on a copy for this one, especially abroad, but I think it is among the better for sure that German cinema had to offer in the year 2003. Go see it.