Lassie – Lassie – Eine abenteuerliche Reise (2020)

Directed by: Hanno Olderdissen | 83 minutes | adventure, drama, family | Actors: Sebastian Bezzel, Anna Maria Mühe, Nico Marischka, Bella Bading, Matthias Habig, Johann von Bülow, Sina Bianca Hentschel, Jana Pallaske, Justus von Dohnanyi, Christoph Letkowski, Bandit, Gode Benedix, Sarah Camp, Matous Brichcin, Moritz Heidelbach

The Scottish collie Lassie first appeared on the silver screen in 1943 in the film ‘Lassie Come Home’, a film based on the novel of the same name by writer Eric Knight. Since then, the brave four-legged friend has appeared in various films and television series and has developed into one of the best-known non-human icons in film and television history.

Most Lassie adventures take place in the United States. But ‘Lassie’ (added outside the US with the subtitle ‘eine Abenteuerliche reise’), in fact a loose and modern remake of the 1943 classic, takes us to the picturesque and scenic German countryside. In this version, Lassie is young Florian Maurer’s dog. Every day the female collie with her waving mane runs through the village and the golden wheat fields to pick up her young owner from school. Unfortunately, that idyll is cruelly disrupted when the glassworks where Florian’s father works has to close. The owner, the local earl, is in financial trouble and has to sell the family business.

The Maurer family is forced to move to a smaller apartment. The landlady has no warm feelings for pets and demands that Lassie leave. Out of necessity, Lassie comes to live with the count temporarily. He takes the dog on a short trip, but is unaware of the nefarious plans of one of his servants: the man wants to kidnap Lassie and sell it on for a good penny.

In many of her previous adventures, Lassie is primarily a savior, a four-legged friend who rescues a mixed company of people from all sorts of tricky situations. In this film, the emphasis is mainly on the close bond between Florian and Lassie. Fortunately, this central theme comes out well. The interaction between the furry movie star Bandit (who plays Lassie) and his young human counterpart looks natural and genuine enough to convince. Furthermore, the minimalist story is tightly written and provided with sufficient momentum. The panoramas are pleasing to the eye and form an excellent backdrop for this light-hearted and sometimes moving family adventure.

The ensemble of characters fulfills many clichés that you associate with a family film set in a white and conservative community in the German countryside. There is not much room for shades of gray. Florian’s father is a traditional craftsman who earns his money with his hands, while the count, blessed with a good heart, is a traditional paterfamilias who oversees the social cohesion within the rural village community. And of course the bad guys are stupid, very clumsy and quite caricatured. In addition, the film also has a few sugary sweet moments that will splash the enamel of some people’s teeth.

The above comments rarely become really disturbing. Lassie is too endearing for that as the beaming, barking and running centerpiece of this good-hearted and entertaining film. But beware: saying no to your kids who insist on having their own family dog ​​becomes a lot harder after you watch this feel-good movie together…