"Aber Doktor" is an East German television movie from 1980s, so this one had its 40th anniversary last year and it was shown really early that year for the first time, it also already had its 41st anniversary this year. It runs for minimally under 1.5 hours, which is also the usual running time for new small screen releases from my country Germany, but it was maybe not entirely different back then. Of course, this is in color, but this is pretty much a given for 1980. This film came out slightly under five years before I was born. The title means "But Doctor", but there is not a huge amount of purpose to translating the title here into English because with the political background back then, this was rather a film that got shown in Eastern Europe. So kinda fitting that the only other title we have here on imdb is what the film was called in Hungary. The director here was Oldrich Lipský and this film is certainly from the late stages of his life and career already, even if he was not super old when he made it. He is also credited as a writer here, one of no less than four writers, which is definitely a lot, especially as this was not a really long movie as I stated earlier. I think GDR movies were never extremely long. Anyway, as for Lipský, you already may have guessed from his name that he was Czech (or Czechoslovakian as it was called back then) and this film is also the exception in his body of work, his only German film I think without looking really closely. Anyway, kinda fitting that in Brodský and Brejchová he also got too very experienced Czechoslovakian actors on board here. They seem to have a thing with accents on the final letter. Brodský is of course mostly known for plaing the central character in what many people consider the best GDR film ever made and that one even managed to score an Oscar nomination back then. Brejchová is still with us and she turns 81 this week. Just like her male co-lead (the one I just mentioned who is probably more lead than everybody else, also plays the title character), she also has a decent history with German(-language) movies, had also won a German Film Award for Best Actress and was nominated for another. Oh and Julie Juristová (again the accent!) deserves a mention too, she was really easy on the eyes in here and that means something coming from me as I am not that much into blondes. Her character here is the love interest to a character played by a man called Henri Hübchen. That's right, it is him indeed. I saw it before watching the film and I wonder if I had recognized him otherwise. Interesting inclusion nonetheless and he was in his early 30s here. And then I can also mention Udo Schenk now. I think "In aller Freundschaft" is really terrible, but he deserves the mention as well. With the other cast members I am not familiar here, but surprises me a bit to see that some are only credited with their first names. definitely more common back than then it is today, especially with child actors. Today their parents make 100% sure that the full name is displayed during the closing credits. Or the agent even. Many young actors already got one. Oh and I found it nice to see here that we saw during the closing sequence the names with the faces. Actually, this is something I would like to see in modern films again too, but I guess it is really a thing of the past. Pity. Oh and I almost forgot Agnes Kraus. How could I! I think Schwester Agnes is still remembered by many. She played the same/similar character in several films as the caring nurse with her heart at the right. One is even named after her and that one I saw pretty recently too and also there was a tribute to the actress on the other night with many guests and interviewees, so she was pretty beloved back then it seems and is not forgotten today either. I think this cast I just summarized may be one key reason why this is not one of many GDR films that have been totally forgotten. On the contrary, it is still shown on national television here and there, today even during prime time. So ignore the under 30 votes here on imdb. There are more than you'd think that still remember this film.
As for the story here, it is nothing too special. You can read right away that the protagonist is a doctor, but it is never really about medical conditions at all. Conditions of the heart yes, but more from a romantic perspective. Doc for example falls for the coach of a promising young ice skater. These two are the Czech actors I mentioned early on. The ice skater is played by Juristová the cutie. By the way, all their names in here are German and I am also not sure if they spoke themselves or got dubbed. It seemed as if they did not change the voices afterwards, which surprises me a bit because there was not the slightest accent with any of them, so not sure if it can be seen as realistic. In any case, if they got dubbed, the did a pretty fine job. I already mentioned that one character is an ice skater and that is the background behind many scenes taking place on the ice. Sadly, they do not really add anything to the story. On the contrary, it looked like a sports broadcast at times there. definitely not what I want to see when I go for a movie, no matter how nice the pirouettes may be. Unfrozen ice was a crucial factor here as well because there are many scenes on the water. Those were slightly better and more entertaining and it was a bit of a running gag that the protagonist couldn't swim. Or could he? Did he learn it as the film progressed? A bit unsure. I still wonder how Agnes knew he couldn't swim. But seeing her direct and cheer on those hunks pulling in one scene was pretty funny. Although it maybe wasn't even meant that way. So not sure if this was unintentional GDR comedy or actually well done. The funniest scene for me and really the only one where I considered giving this film a thumbs-up and positive recommendation was the one in the department store. We have again the main character there ending up in situations where he seems a bit on the sleazy side, but it was all bad luck. The outrage when they look into the changing room was pretty hilarious though, also all before that. This was the best part of the entire film. Shame the rest was not on par. Also I felt a bit sorry for the voluptuous lady in these scene who got humiliated in front of everybody's eyes, even if doc took the beating immediately afterwards. This female character really got it here and I think she ended up in tears at one point in the second half as well, again through no fault of her own and when the situation was clear once again that she as a married woman was getting busy with another guy. Okay, that is pretty much it. So here and there, we get a funny inclusion, but it just isn't enough for a(n almost) 90-minute movie, especially because both romance plots involving the ice ladies were not on the cute or inspired side. Those needed to be better for me to give the film a positive recommendation. By the way, the title "Aber Doktor" (the absence of a "Herr" already shows that he is not a man who gets respect really) or "But Doctor" was included in quotes on several occasions here, also at the very end, and I think nurse Agnes had these comments more than once, even if he was her boss. The title song has the same name and this one came from the late Karel Gott, a man quite like still and who will always be remembered for his Biene Maja song of course. Who would have thought that a children cartoon song turned into his biggest hit. He was also from Czechoslovakia, so no surprise he got included here, even if honestly his musical contribution this time was not exactly something to be proud of. The song was probably even weaker than the movie. Not that it was a horrible movie or anything. Maybe, if I see it once or twice again in the future, I could even give it a positive recommendation. We shall see. For now it's a thumbs-down and I suggest you skip the watch here, even if there is more female nudity in this film than you'd expect from a GDR movie. Not recommended. Oh and it seems difference in age was not an issue there either. With the young couple it was almost a decade, with the older fellas 20 years even. Of course, I am talking about the actors here because we do not know the characters' ages.
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