The Slurb (2001) User Reviews (4)

Pretty entertaining

[Horst_In_Translation · 6/10 · 9 February 2017]

"Das Sams" is a German 100-minute movie from 2001, so this one had its 15th anniversary last year. It is the most known work by Ducthn director Ben Verbong. Paul Maar and Ulrich Limmer worked on the script here and Maar is also the writer of the Sams books. Apparently, this film here was quite a success because they made a sequel shortly afterward and a third movie not too long ago. But as for this first film here, it won Eva Mattes a German Film Award and got Ulrich Noethen a nomination as well as taking home the big prize for best children's films. This is actually pretty amazing as you rarely see kids-oriented films getting such recognition. However, I think it is also a good watch for grown-ups. And even for people who are not aware of the books at all. Like myself, who has only read a few pages of the very first book. I think Noethen (like in Petterson & Findus recently) once again proves that he is really good in carrying films that are primarily aimed at children and he is certainly among Germany's best right now from his age group. The supporting players (Mattes, Rohde, Szyszkowitz) are fun too, even if they are just in one scene like Heinrich Schafmeister.

Now about the story, it is extremely absurd of course, but the fantasy element and the character of Sams justify it all and make it genuinely entertaining. I am not really much of a fan of Christine Urspruch on Tatort (she appeared in this film briefly before her first appearance as Alberich) and I have never seen Dr. Klein, but as for her career-defining big-screen role here as Sams, I think she was a really good casting decision and fits the character nicely in terms of her line delivery, even if at least 50% of it is the makeup I'm sure. So what else is there to say. I quite enjoyed the film here and even if the romance aspect is a bit over the top at the end perhaps, it was still genuinely enjoyable throughout with all the entertaining magic the Sams provides in its(?) most unusual awkward approach. I will definitely check out films 2 and 3 at some point in the (possibly near) future hoping they are as good and I hope maybe they make a 4th film at some point too. Until then, you should really see this one here how it all started.

What a delightful pic!

[missmarmite · 29 June 2002]

This a film for the young at heart - or the little ones, of course!

Actually it's a children's film. But it's definitely more than that. It's warm, extremely well written - well, like the books it's based upon - superbly directed and offers excellent actors in excellent performances.

Christine Urspruch masters the title role of the droll goblin-like creature with style. She "is" the Sams. Ulrich Noethen as her "pappa" gives a brilliant performance throughout the whole film but especially so in the dancing scene in the restaurant. I laughed tears and admired the choreography. Armin Rohde and Eva Mattes are terrific in the main supporting roles. Watching them eating sausages on an oversized table is just hilarious.

But all this doesn't work to perfection without a perfect script. And this one is straight perfect. At last there we have the proof that good children's films can be made in Germany. It happens only once in a while, but at least it happens. This time it did!

I hope Das Sams II will be as pleasant to watch as this one. With the same team they can't fail! And I love to laugh!

Two Stars for Mrs. Rotkohl and Mr. Mon

[hilliindustries · 2/10 · 4 April 2024]

This movie is the perfect example of what's wrong with german cinema. I've read all the Sams books with my son so far, and they're great. Also, the author Paul Maar seems to be a fantastic person who understands children.

However, the movie doesn't do justice to the books. But before someone says, Most of the time the movie does not make sense at all. "It's for children. It doesn't have to make sense," I must say: Please stop insulting children's intelligence. Children also like stories that make sense, even fantasy storyies. Stories in a fantasy world must make sense, and you can't just give up on everything that makes a good story. I understand that characters may need adjustments for a film, but the fact that they all have to be so absolutely negative shocked me. Everyone in the film is mean. I have nothing against mean characters in a movie, but if I'm supposed to somehow like the Sams or Mr. Taschenbier and care about their well-being, then I shouldn't be presented with such unpleasant characters. Everyone seems to act from completely base motives or sometimes even some actions happen for no reason at all. Many actions that made sense in the book are just done here because they also occur in the book. But there's no explanation given for many actions. It annoys me greatly to see this because the books provide a great underlying story for a fantastic film. But someone didn't bother with storytelling I guess.

But what annoys me the most are the scenes that the filmmakers added, which contribute absolutely nothing to the story or character development. Besides, most of them just aren't good (except the idea of the umbrella factory)

But there is also something that I truly enjoyed and loved in this movie. All scenes with Frau Rotkohl and Herr Mon. They seem like they're from a completely different film. Not only both actors (Eva Mattes & Armin Rohde) are great, also the staging is different. Or at least it feels different. Only for that (and for my son of course) I did not regret watching the movie.

The strange thing is that in the book, Mrs. Rotkohl is portrayed as a quite annoying and mean person who changes over time and becomes a nice woman. In the film, people are just mean to her (like when the Sams splashes water on her face for no reason), and then she complains. Rightly so. There is no character setup for her. She´s just a person that reacts to people being mean to her. But still she´s amazing.

The film really feels like, "It's just for kids anyway, and kids aren't smart, so we don't need to bother with storytelling." I read the books for the first time this year in my life. With my son. I didn't know them before. And then my son naturally wanted to watch the movie. We did. He found it quite funny (even though he asked, "How long untill the end?" in the middle). But he was more impressed by other children's movies that respect a good story and don't underestimate children's intelligence.

After the movie, we watched the extras on the BluRay, and in one extra, the Sams is interviewed. Not the actress, but the actress in her role as the Sams. It's supposed to be funny, but when she (as the Sams) started to talk about Pokemon and why kids shouldn´t watch Pokemon or play it, but instead they should watch the sams, I got even more annoyed. If you have to put something down to promote yourself, then something is seriously wrong. Regardless of the fact that my family and I are huge Pokémon fans. We're also huge Sams fans (not the film). You just don't do that and it´s really sad that they felt they have to to that.

I could write all day about why I don't like the movie. I don't know who was responsible for it and apologize to the filmmakers and Paul Maar, who may have wanted to make a good movie out of it and maybe their hands were tied due to the usual reasons in the German film business.

The Kids Liked It

[Karl Self · 29 October 2001]

"Das Sams" is based on an absolutely brilliant series of four children's books by Paul Maar. When I saw it in the cinema, my eleven - year - old nephew as well as all the other kids in the audience really got a kick out of it. Personally though, being somewhat more mature than the target audience and a seasoned cineast to boot, and not least because I literally grew up with the original books and the audio play, I must admit that the film didn't fulfill all my expectations. I would have liked the film to have a slower pace, to focus more on the main characters rather than hustle from scene to scene; especially so as Eva Mattes (as "Frau Rotkohl") and especially Christine Urspruch (as "das Sams") put in brilliant performances -- Ulrich Noethen ("Herr Taschenbier"), August Zirner ("Herr Oberstein"), Armin Rohde ("Herr Mon") and Aglaia Szyszkowitz (as Taschenbier's object of desire, "Frau März"), on the other hand, are somewhat less stellar. And I could have done without the soppy love story and the happy family ending. Oh well, as long as the kids are happy, "Das Sams" is well worth the price of the cinema ticket. In any case, I can only recommend that you read the book to your children. Before seeing the film, afterwards, or instead.