Heiners Filmseiten – Too Far Away (en)

Too Far Away (Zu weit weg)

Russian title: Слишком далеко
Original title: Zu weit weg

Alternative titles:
Zu weit weg – aber Freunde für immer!

Child movie – Germany
Production year: 2018
Movie length: 89 minutes

Director: Sarah Winkenstette
Writer: Susanne Finken
Cinematograph: Monika Plura
Music: Leonard Petersen

Movie description:

11yo Ben and his family have to leave their village due to the lignite mining in the western region of Germany. Ben has trouble fitting in his new school and equally new soccer club, while his old friends are already moving on. Then Tariq, a young Syrian, is seated next to him in school, and the two teenagers slowly bond over their shared interests – and shared losses.

11-year-old Ben’s village will soon be only an open brown coal mine. He and his family move to a nearby city but Ben fails to fit in at his new school. Bullied, he returns secretly to his old, abandoned home. His one pleasure, football, pales with the arrival of 12-year-old Tariq, a Syrian refugee and better player. But when bureaucracy stops Tariq playing and he runs away, Ben finds him and learns that Tariq is desperate to be reunited with his scattered family. To cheer him up, Ben shares his biggest secret: the village. Jealousy on the football field becomes friendship and understanding. So when Tariq’s brother calls from Utrecht, wanting Tariq to join him, he will leave with happy memories and Ben can finally feel at home in his new life.

Boy Actors