''Alles auf Zucker!'' (german: Go for Zucker!) is a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

, released internationally in 2004. It can be seen as part of the " Ossi- Wessi" confrontation within Germany. Directed by

Dani Levy Dani Levy (born 17 November 1957) is a Swiss filmmaker, theatrical director, screenwriter and actor. Biography Levy was born to a Jewish family in Switzerland in 1957.

, the cast includes Henry Hübchen,

Hannelore Elsner Hannelore Elsner (; born Hannelore Elstner; 26 July 1942 – 21 April 2019) was a German actress with a long career in television and film. She first performed on stage in Munich, and later starred in popular films and television series such as ' ...

Udo Samel Udo Samel (born 25 June 1953) is a German actor. He has appeared in more than 80 films and television shows since 1977. He starred in the 1994 film '' Back to Square One'', which was entered into the 44th Berlin International Film Festival. Se ...

, Gołda Tencer and Steffen Groth. Director Dani Levy, himself

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...

ish, has made an ironic comedy about modern

Jewish identity Jewish identity is the objective or subjective state of perceiving oneself as a Jew and as relating to being Jewish. Under a broader definition, Jewish identity does not depend on whether a person is regarded as a Jew by others, or by an exter ...

in present-day Germany. Henry Hübchen stars as Jaecki Zucker.

Cast

* Henry Hübchen as Jakob "Jaeckie Zucker" Zuckermann *

as Marlene Zucker *

as Samuel Zuckermann * Gołda Tencer as Golda Zuckermann * Steffen Groth as Thomas Zuckermann * Anja Franke as Jana Zuckermann * Sebastian Blomberg as Joshua Zuckermann * Elena Uhlig as Lilly Zuckermann *

Rolf Hoppe Rolf Hoppe (6 December 1930 – 14 November 2018) was a prolific German stage, cinema, and television actor, who played in more than 400 films in a career which spanned over six decades. To international audiences Hoppe is perhaps best known f ...

as Rabbi Ernst Ginsberg * Inga Busch as Irene * Andreas Herder as Gay male nurse * Renate Krößner *

Klaus Wowereit Klaus Wowereit (born 1 October 1953) is a German politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) and was the Governing Mayor of Berlin from 21 October 2001 to 11 December 2014. In 2001 state elections his party won a plurality of the votes, 29 ...

as Himself

Plot and details

Jakob Zuckermann alias Jaeckie Zucker is Jewish. But he says he's got nothing to do with "that club", ever since his mother and his little brother left him behind the Iron Curtain in

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

when he was young. Therefore, when he learns of the death of his mother, he does not care. However he has to care. His younger brother pays him a visit with his family, because according to Jewish tradition, they have to observe the seven-day

Shiv'ah ( he, שִׁבְעָה , literally "seven") is the week-long mourning period in Judaism for first-degree relatives. The ritual is referred to as "sitting " in English. The period lasts for seven days following the burial. Following the initial ...

period of mourning, and their ''Mamme's'' will requires them to reconcile in the presence of the

rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...

and the family. If they fail, her assets will be bestowed upon the Jewish community of Berlin, and not them. Most of the scenes were shot at

Tegel Airport Berlin Tegel "Otto Lilienthal" Airport (german: link=no, Flughafen Berlin-Tegel „Otto Lilienthal“) was the primary international airport of Berlin, the federal capital of Germany. The airport was named after aviation pioneer Otto Lilienth ...

Karl-Marx-Allee Karl-Marx-Allee ( en, Karl Marx Alley) is a monumental socialist boulevard built by the GDR between 1952 and 1960 in Berlin Friedrichshain and Mitte. Today the boulevard is named after Karl Marx. It should not be confused with the ''Karl-Mar ...

, Alexanderplatz,

Oranienburger Straße Oranienburger Straße ( en, Oranienburger Street) is a street in central Berlin. It is located in the borough of Mitte, north of the River Spree, and runs south-east from Friedrichstraße to Hackescher Markt. The street is popular with tourists ...

and the Jewish Cemetery Weißensee in Berlin. The Mayor of Berlin

makes a

cameo appearance A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly ei ...

as himself.

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

actress Golda Tencer does not speak German, even though she spoke her own lines fluently. She had the German text written down on small pieces of paper, hidden in her purse. During the movie she can sometimes be seen looking down into her purse. The soundtrack by Niki Reiser is light and jovial, featuring some '' klezmer'' music as well.

Overview

The movie was co-funded by the television channels

Arte Arte (; (), sometimes stylized in lowercase or uppercase in its logo) is a European public service channel dedicated to culture. It is made up of three separate companies: the Strasbourg-based European Economic Interest Grouping ARTE, plu ...

and the WDR. It is one of the very few movies about German Judaism that does not have the

Shoah The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ar ...

in the centre, but is a comedy about the crazy twists and turns of fate that befall a family that finds itself again. The two Jewish families are more symbolic of the current problems and past tragedies of the division of Germany between East and West, and how the country and its people are struggling to find to each other again. This division affected every German, regardless of their religion. The film depicts in a comic manner the divisions within Judaism between a secularised Jew from the former GDR who has to reconcile himself with his Orthodox brother from the West. The film has been termed "an audacious, politically incorrect, self-ironical Jewish comedy". It was critically acclaimed in Germany and won a number of awards, most notably the 2005 Deutscher Filmpreis in several categories.

References

External links

*
DVD
at artfilm.ch {{DEFAULTSORT:Alles Auf Zucker! 2004 films Films set in Berlin 2000s German-language films Films about Jews and Judaism 2004 comedy films German comedy films Films directed by Dani Levy Cue sports films 2000s German films