When will it finally be the way it never was: novel adaptation of Joachim Meyerhoff’s autobiography about growing up and family life as the youngest son of the director of a child and adolescent psychiatric ward.
Plot and background
Joachim grows up on the grounds of the largest psychiatric clinic in Schleswig-Holstein, not because he is a patient himself, but because his father Director Meyerhoff (Devid Striesow) runs the clinic. He has a great devotion to his work and the young patients, and for Joachim, too, they are more or less part of the family. As the director’s youngest son, he often seeks refuge with them, because his older brothers like to tease him into a fit of rage. The mother of the three boys (Laura Tonke) longs to paint watercolours away from the exhausting daily routine and towards balmy summer nights in Italy. Meanwhile, the director also dives into other worlds outside of his work in the reading chair and secretly goes his own way behind his wife’s back. The intact family life seems to be cracked and as Joachim slowly grows up, the loss of his first love also weighs heavily on his mind.
“When will it finally be like it never was” – background, cast, cinema release
“Wann wird es endlich so, wie es nie war” is based on the autobiographical novel by bestselling author Joachim Meyerhoff. Director Sonja Heiss adapted the book for the screen and tells of the difficulties of family life in a humorous yet very touching way with the film. The German filmmaker recently won numerous awards for her feature films “Hedi Schneider steckt fest” and “Hotel Very Welcome”. Heiss also made it onto the SPIEGEL bestseller list as an author with her short story collection “Das Glück geht aus”, published in 2011. Together with Lars Hubrich, she also wrote the screenplay for the film. The family drama also shines in front of the camera with a renowned cast. Devid Striesow (“Nothing New in the West”) and Laura Tonke (“Hedi Schneider steckt fest”) can be seen in the roles of Joachim’s parents, while child actor Arsseni Bultmann (“Robbi Tobbi und das Fliewatüüt”) impresses as the 16-year-old Joachim.
When will it finally be like it never was” will be in German cinemas from 23 February 2023.
