Charlie & Louise - Das doppelte Lottchen
Encyclopedia
Charlie & Louise – Das doppelte Lottchen is a German
children's film
directed by Joseph Vilsmaier
in 1994, starring Corinna Harfouch. It is a film adaptation
of the novel Das doppelte Lottchen
by Erich Kästner
.
The two girls concoct a plan to find out why they were separated by their parents. Charlie travels to their mother in Hamburg, pretending to be Louise, who in turn pretends to be Charlie and travels to their father in Berlin. Much chaos ensues as both girls try to settle into their new lives without anyone noticing the difference. The girls' situation gets even more difficult when they realise that both parents have new partners, whom they intend to marry.
In the end, Charlie and Louise can think of no other way than to run away in order to get their parents back together. They travel to Scotland and hide in an old light-house, from which they are rescued by their parents.
Back in Hamburg, the father agrees that both girls can stay with their mother. He gets on the train back to Berlin, but before the train has pulled out of the station, he finds a note by Charlie in his pocket saying "Es gibt Momente im Leben, da muss man die Notbremse ziehen" ("There are moments in life in which you've got to pull the emergency brake" - Note: In German, the expression "die Notbremse ziehen" can also mean "to pull out of a situation before it's too late"). He pulls the emergency brake, leaves the train and decides to stay with his family after all.
Floriane Eichhorn: Louise Kröger
Corinna Harfouch: Sabine Luiselotte Kröger
Heiner Lauterbach
: Wolf Palfy
Hanns Zischler: Dieter Reich, Sabine Kröger's boyfriend
April Hailer: Sunny, Wolf Palfy's girlfriend
released a single in 1994 entitled Charlie & Louise
for which the Germany musical duo, known from Bonfire
, perform four different versions of the title song from the movie.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
children's film
Children's film
A children's film is a film aimed for children as its audience. As opposed to a family film, no special effort is made to make the film attractive for other audiences. The film may or may not be about children. In Unshrinking the Kids: Children's Cinema and the Family Film which is a chapter in In...
directed by Joseph Vilsmaier
Joseph Vilsmaier
Joseph Vilsmaier is a German film director.-Work:After attending a boarding school near Augsburg, he was trained as a technician to make film cameras and then spent nine years at a music conservatory. Following this he was a member of a jazz group...
in 1994, starring Corinna Harfouch. It is a film adaptation
Film adaptation
Film adaptation is the transfer of a written work to a feature film. It is a type of derivative work.A common form of film adaptation is the use of a novel as the basis of a feature film, but film adaptation includes the use of non-fiction , autobiography, comic book, scripture, plays, and even...
of the novel Das doppelte Lottchen
Lottie and Lisa
Lisa and Lottie is a 1949 novel by Erich Kästner, which originally started out during WWII as an aborted movie scenario, about twin girls separated at birth who meet at summer camp. It has been adapted into film many times .-Plot summary:Two nine-year-old girls—rude Lisa Palfy Lisa and...
by Erich Kästner
Erich Kästner
Emil Erich Kästner was a German author, poet, screenwriter and satirist, known for his humorous, socially astute poetry and children's literature.-Dresden 1899–1919:...
.
Synopsis
Two 12-year-old girls, Charlotte "Charlie" Palfy from Berlin and Louise Kröger from Hamburg, meet on a train going to a language school in Scotland. They are shocked to see how much they look alike. They soon find out that they are identical twins. Shortly after their birth, their parents split up, and each of them took one girl. Neither girl knew that she had a twin sister, and they both believed their other parent dead. Though they look alike, they are very different in personality. Charlie, as the daughter of a music hall composer, is cool, self-confident and somewhat impolite, dresses accordingly and listens to techno music. Louise, who grew up with her mother, who works in advertising, wears conservative clothing and is rather shy and quiet.The two girls concoct a plan to find out why they were separated by their parents. Charlie travels to their mother in Hamburg, pretending to be Louise, who in turn pretends to be Charlie and travels to their father in Berlin. Much chaos ensues as both girls try to settle into their new lives without anyone noticing the difference. The girls' situation gets even more difficult when they realise that both parents have new partners, whom they intend to marry.
In the end, Charlie and Louise can think of no other way than to run away in order to get their parents back together. They travel to Scotland and hide in an old light-house, from which they are rescued by their parents.
Back in Hamburg, the father agrees that both girls can stay with their mother. He gets on the train back to Berlin, but before the train has pulled out of the station, he finds a note by Charlie in his pocket saying "Es gibt Momente im Leben, da muss man die Notbremse ziehen" ("There are moments in life in which you've got to pull the emergency brake" - Note: In German, the expression "die Notbremse ziehen" can also mean "to pull out of a situation before it's too late"). He pulls the emergency brake, leaves the train and decides to stay with his family after all.
Cast
Fritzi Eichhorn: Charlotte "Charly" PalfyFloriane Eichhorn: Louise Kröger
Corinna Harfouch: Sabine Luiselotte Kröger
Heiner Lauterbach
Heiner Lauterbach
Heiner Lauterbach is a German actor.- Life and work :Heiner Lauterbach was married to German actress Katja Flint who is the mother of his son Oscar . Later he had a relationship with Jenny Elvers. Since 7 September 2001 he has been married to Viktoria Skaf. They have two children: Maya and Vito...
: Wolf Palfy
Hanns Zischler: Dieter Reich, Sabine Kröger's boyfriend
April Hailer: Sunny, Wolf Palfy's girlfriend
Differences from Erich Kästner's book
The whole story has been modernised. It now takes place in the 1990s. Due to that fact, many aspects of the original story have been changed. Here are some of the important differences:- In the original version, Luise (note also the different spelling) is the lively girl who lives with her father, whereas Lotte is the shy girl who lives with her mother. In the movie, it's the other way around, probably because these days, Luise/Louise is a rather old-fashioned name that fits better to a shy, conservative girl.
- The parents' names have been changed as well. This is most interesting in the case of the mother. Her original first name, Luiselotte, has now become her middle name. The reason is probably the same as in the case of the girls' names: In the 1990s, it would be very unusual for a middle-aged woman to have an old-fashioned name such as Luiselotte.
Soundtrack
Lessmann/ZillerBonfire (band)
Bonfire is a German heavy metal band, founded in Ingolstadt, Germany in 1972. Bonfire has a unique history. Currently there are two bands who have held the name. The original group started out as Cacumen, became Bonfire and ended in 2011 as Charade...
released a single in 1994 entitled Charlie & Louise
Charlie & Louise single
"Charlie & Louise" is the first single released by the German duo Lessmann/Ziller. The music was written by Stefan Will and Michael Kunze for the feature German film entitled Charlie & Louise - Das doppelte Lottchen.-Track listing:-Band members:...
for which the Germany musical duo, known from Bonfire
Bonfire (band)
Bonfire is a German heavy metal band, founded in Ingolstadt, Germany in 1972. Bonfire has a unique history. Currently there are two bands who have held the name. The original group started out as Cacumen, became Bonfire and ended in 2011 as Charade...
, perform four different versions of the title song from the movie.