Mississippi is mine-Hände away from Mississippi (2007)

Directed by: Detlev Buck| 98 minutes | comedy, adventure, family | Actors: Zoë Mannhardt, Katharina Thalbach, Karl Alexander Seidel, Konstantin Kaucher, Christoph Maria Herbst, Hans Löw, Milan Peschel, Margit Carstensen, Angelika Böttiger, Heidi Mahler, Margit Bendokat, Heidi Kabel, Ingo Naujoks, Fritzi Haberlandt, Helmut Mooshammer, Charly Hübner, David Kross, Andreja Schneider, Detlev Buck, Wenka von Mikulicz, Günter Grevolls, Bernadette Sophie Knoller, Detlef Mohr, Caroline Brandes, Danielle Brandes, Wilhelm Böttcher, Werner Kröger, Karlheinz Römpack, Uwe Baumann

Cornelia Funke can break some ground with her fans. The German writer is immensely popular among children and (young) adults. Her books from the Inkheart series are best known, but the series translated into Dutch as “De Wilde Kippenclub” is also doing very well. A separate story is her “Hände weg von Mississippi”, translated into Dutch as “Mississippi is mine”. The book, which appeared in 1997, was brought to the silver screen ten years later by Detlev Buck (‘Knallhart’).

“Mississippi Is Mine” is about ten-year-old Emma, ​​who, due to her parents’ busy schedule, spends the summer holidays in the countryside with her grandmother Dolly. That is absolutely no punishment because Emma and the quirky Dolly are crazy about each other. They share an unconditional love for animals; Grandma Dolly takes care of animals left behind by their owners. When Emma learns that the beautiful horse Mississippi, which was owned by neighbor Klipperbos, a wealthy but now deceased landowner, is being taken to the slaughter, the two animal friends don’t have long to hesitate. For a price higher than the cousin’s butcher and probably only heir to Klipperbos, Albert Gansmann, the duo buy Mississippi. But then Gansmann finds out that he still needs Mississippi for something. He does everything he can to get the animal back in his hands, and shrinks from little…

‘Mississippi is mine’ is a delightful youth film that stays true to the book. The atmosphere is similar to the Astrid Lindgren films from the eighties like ‘The Children of the Bolder Neighbours’: the countryside is glorified and children do not have to worry about passing traffic. They can enjoy swimming in an idyllic lake and snacking on juicy strawberries in the vast fields. The only problems are caused by the mean yet stupid Gansmann, but luckily Emma is smart enough to beat him. In passing, she immediately saves the entire middle class of the village where Grandma Dolly lives.

The humor is usually of the slapstick level, but not the entire film relies on that. There is enough tension woven into the story. The acting is fine, and the environment is beautifully rendered. Great film to watch with the whole family and certainly not just for horse girls.