Sag ja, Mutti (1959)
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Directors
Cast
Hans Söhnker, Hertha Feiler, Christine Kaufmann, Paul Richter, Lucie Englisch, Charles Regnier, Angela Cenery, Eduard Köck, Oskar Willner, Helene Arcon, Herta Risavy, Anna Exl, Alfred Böhm, Leopold Esterle, Kurt Labatt, Axel Corti, Anni Schönhuber, Peter Schmidtberger, Paul Engel
A lonely twelve-year-old’s Tyrolean holiday with her father becomes a family crisis when she falls gravely ill.
The story
Twelve-year-old Evi is often left alone while her mother, Nora, works as an actress and her father, Erik, writes. When Nora accepts a film opportunity with director Roberts, Erik takes Evi on their planned holiday to Tyrol without her. In a village there, Evi befriends Pauli, a boy from the musical Engel family, and finds in their close-knit household some of the affection she misses at home. Her unease about her parents’ relationship grows as she sees Erik flirting with the beautiful Spaniard Lolita Alvarez. After a mountain outing leaves Evi unusually exhausted, a sudden storm frightens her, and the following day she develops a fever.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Twelve-year-old Evi is often alone: her mother, Nora, is a busy actress, and her father, Erik, is a writer who must not be disturbed while he works. Evi and Erik set off alone on their long-planned holiday to Tyrol because Nora has been given the chance to make a film with the distinguished director Roberts. Despite Erik’s objections, Nora takes the opportunity, and sensitive Evi once again worries about her parents’ marriage. In a small Tyrolean village, father and daughter check into a hotel, and Evi quickly befriends little Pauli. He has a tame duck called Bertha and is part of the musical Engel extended family. He himself plays eight instruments and teaches Evi to play the hammered dulcimer. She often visits the Engels, where she experiences not only a close-knit family but also the affection she lacks at home. Even on holiday, Evi worries about her family, as she sees her father flirting with the beautiful Spaniard Lolita Alvarez. After a mountain outing, Evi is unusually exhausted. Erik buys her a hammered dulcimer from an instrument maker, and while he is away, a violent thunderstorm breaks over the village. Terrified, Evi takes refuge with the Engel family. The next day she has a fever, and the doctor sends her to a hospital in Innsbruck for tests. There, the doctors diagnose myocarditis and give Evi little chance of survival. Meanwhile, the Engel family is away on a major overseas tour, but plans to be back in Tyrol for Christmas. Erik brings his wife to Evi’s bedside. Although Roberts had courted Nora, she had always thought of Evi and her husband. Erik and Nora suspect that Evi will not live until Christmas, so they alter her calendar, and eventually celebrate Christmas with their daughter in October without Evi realizing the trick. The Engel family, too, has hurried back from its tour after hearing about Evi’s condition. When Evi is wheeled into the festively decorated hospital ward and the Engel family sings “Heidschi Bumbeidschi”—her favorite song—both the attending doctor and Erik and Nora notice that Evi looks considerably better and no longer seems as ill as she did in the days before.
Genres
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