My 2008 TIFF Experience (3rd in a series)

On Sunday September 7, I saw Krabat at the Scotiabank 3 cinema as part of TIFF 08. The film was in German with English subtitles. It was a TIFF world premiere and the venue was sold out. Director Marco Kreuzpaintner, the films' producers and one member of the young cast (Daniel Bruhl) were in attendance for a post show Q&A. The movie was presented as part of the Sprockets family series (althought it is rated PG13 and some scenes contained horror and were unsuitable for very young children.) The movie is based on a bestselling German novel whose plotline crosses The Lord of The Rings with Harry Potter, with the action set in the war and plague torn German countryside of the mid-1600s.

As the movie opens, the title protagonist (Krabat) deserts the two fellow wandering orphans he carols for alms with, following his night visions to a mill operated by a master sorcerer and 11 youthful apprentices (Krabat's arrival makes 12). At the mill Krabat discovers the secrets of it's annual cycle of decay, sacrifice and rejuvenation that enslaves him and the other 11 lads, ultimately leading to the demise of Tonda, the lad that he befriends most closely.

The technical credits, including CGI f/x, are Hollywood summer popcorn blockbuster calibre and the young cast's performances are excellent. The film makes the most sinister use of perched ravens since Hitchcock's The Birds. Apparently, the film version is very faithful to the novel's plot. In the Q&A that followed the closing credits, we learned that principal photography was completed on a very extended and difficult shoot during Winter in Romania.