''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 **Ger ...

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 o ...

, 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 Henry Hübchen (born 20 February 1947 in Berlin) is a German actor who played the title character in the award-winning 2004 film '' Go for Zucker''. That performance earned him a Lola, Germany's equivalent of an Oscar, and critical praise at ...

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. Sel ...

Gołda Tencer Gołda Tencer ( yid. גאָלדע טענצער, born 2 August 1949 in Łódź) is a Polish actress and singer. Gołda Tencer was born to a Jewish family, the daughter of Szmul and Sonia Tencer. In 1971 she graduated from Actors Studio in Wars ...

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

as Jakob "Jaeckie Zucker" Zuckermann *

as Marlene Zucker *

as Samuel Zuckermann *

as Golda Zuckermann * Steffen Groth as Thomas Zuckermann *

Anja Franke Aanya, Anya or Anja is a given name. The names are feminine in most cultures especially Indian, and unisex in several African and European countries. Origins and variant forms * Aanya or Anya is an Indian name that means inexhaustible, limitles ...

as Jana Zuckermann *

Sebastian Blomberg Sebastian Blomberg (born 24 May 1972) is a German actor. He has appeared in more than forty films since 1997. In 2008 he played Rudi Dutschke in The Baader Meinhof Complex (''German: Der Baader Meinhof Komplex)''. Dutschke was the most prominen ...

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 Andreas ( el, Ἀνδρέας) is a name usually given to males in Austria, Greece, Cyprus, Denmark, Armenia, Estonia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Finland, Flanders, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Romania, the Netherlands, and Indonesia. The name ...

as Gay male nurse *

Renate Krößner Renate Krößner also known as Renate Krössner (17 May 194525 May 2020) was a German actress who was internationally recognized for roles in films and television. She was awarded the Silver Bear for Best Actress of the Berlinale for the title ro ...

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 The Iron Curtain was the political boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1991. The term symbolizes the efforts by the Soviet Union (USSR) to block itself and its s ...

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 Lilientha ...

Karl-Marx-Allee Karl-Marx-Allee ( en, Karl Marx Alley) is a monumental Socialist realism, socialist boulevard built by the East Germany, GDR between 1952 and 1960 in Berlin Friedrichshain and Mitte. Today the boulevard is named after Karl Marx. It should not ...

Alexanderplatz () ( en, Alexander Square) is a large public square and transport hub in the central Mitte district of Berlin. The square is named after the Russian Tsar Alexander I, which also denotes the larger neighbourhood stretching from in the nort ...

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 tour ...

and the

Jewish Cemetery Weißensee 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""The ...

in Berlin. The

Mayor of Berlin The Governing Mayor (german: Regierender Bürgermeister) of Berlin is the head of government, presiding over the Berlin Senate. As Berlin is an independent city as well as one of the constituent States of Germany (''Bundesländer''), the offi ...

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, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

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 Klezmer ( yi, קלעזמער or ) is an instrumental musical tradition of the Ashkenazi Jews of Central and Eastern Europe. The essential elements of the tradition include dance tunes, ritual melodies, and virtuosic improvisations played for l ...

'' 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, pl ...

and the

WDR WDR may refer to: * Waddell & Reed (stock ticker: WDR), an American asset management and financial planning company * Walt Disney Records, an American record label of the Disney Music Group * WDR neuron, a type of neuron involved in pain signall ...

. 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 The German Film Award (), also known as Lola after its prize statuette, is the national film award of Germany. It is presented at an annual ceremony honouring cinematic achievements in the German film industry. Besides being the most important ...

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