Moritz (Michael Krebschull) is a 15-year-old teenager from a (formerly) wealthy family, living in the better part of town (Hamburg), whose father has recently bankrupted the family-business and put the family in financial jeopardies. Being a loner, going through the "angst" of puberty and ostracized by his wealthy classmates, Moritz feels close only to his saxophone, his grandmother (Grete Mosheim), who is ailing away in a hospital, constantly asking him to supply her with sleeping pills so she can end her misery and his pet-rat, which is eventually poached by the family's cat (and for which Moritz takes revenge by strangling the feline and bashing it against a tree). Other than that he has a crush on a local girl Barbara (Kerstin Wehlmann), which he encountered by chance and a group of teenage Rock n' Roll band, whom his uppity mother disdains for being 'proletarians'.
Director Hark Bohm in many ways is a sort of Larry Clarke of his time and place. He seems to generally care about his subjects, which are teenagers on the verge of becoming adults, which makes "Moritz, Dear Moritz" (so the literal translation of the title) a genuine coming-of-age-movie. Don't expect any major revelations or twists at the end. This is more like "a day in the life of"-affair. But anybody who has ever been young and around the age of the protagonist will to an extent be able to relate to the character of Moritz.
Aside from the basic story, this is very much a movie about and playing in Hamburg. This often reminds the viewers of Robert Lemke's "Rocker", which was shot around the same time and area and likewise deals primarily with the troubles of growing up. I must admit, I do have a crush on Hamburg and consider it one of the most livable cities in Germany. It feels like being by the ocean, despite the ocean being miles away (yes, the Alster is a huge river) the film makes good use of the locations, be it the upper-class villas in Plankenese or the seedier areas like the Kiez, which are littered with booze-holes, strip-joints and prostitutes virtually standing in line. Director Bohm obviously knows his Hamburg and the various mentalities, from the cold, (seemingly) impersonal bourgeoisie, to the (seemingly) rude, yet hearty demeanor of the lower classes.
The movie does have some strong scenes. For one there might be the issue of nudity (as I understand it, many among the American audience have certain issues with human anatomy). There's also a scene where Moritz fantasizes about dissecting his loathsome math-teacher, cutting his tongue and sewing bees into his stomach, the strangulation and bashing of a cat and a scene, where Moritz is tempted by an attractive woman in a car, who is accidentally decapitated in a road-accident. However, none of these scenes are self-serving, exploitive or gratuitous. Still, despite the subject and the main-character, I would not classify this a "children's movie" per se.
"Moritz, dear Moritz" could only have been produced in the 70's and stands along side similar productions like "Vorstadtkrokodile", "Das Fliegende Klassenzimmer" or above mentioned "Rocker". Definitely an impressive movie and a social-critical documentary of it's time, that is as watchable as it was almost 40 years ago. 7 from 10.
And watch out for Moritz's menacing classmate "Boxer", the towering bully. A few decades later the actor would make a small, but impressive appearance in "8MM" alongside Nicolas Cage (as an equally menacing, towering S/M-freak).
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