"Lotti auf der Flucht" is a German television film from 2003, so this one is getting closer to its 20th anniversary now and, who knows, maybe it happened already depending on when you read this review. It runs for 1.5 hours and the director is Peter Weissflog, probably not related to the famous East German athlete. Weissflog was already fairly experienced back then, but his body of work is nothing great, still frequently better than this movie we have here I am sure. The same surely cannot be said about writers Fischer and Hajos. Those two have worked together on many occasion in fact, apparently a regular duo, but if you take a look at everything they have done, you will find garbage like German daily soap opera "Marienhof" and their bodies of work (I could also say "body of work" because it feels almost identical with their collabs) is extremely disappointing. Plus, I also believe that a screen writer can do more harm to a movie than a director because story is key for me 95% of the time and the two female writers surely messed up here as well. Another bad addition to their bodies of work. The title sounds a bit like a sequel, as if we are already familiar with the Lotte character, but I don#t think there was another movie before this one with the same characters. That can surely be considered a good thing because this film here is already one too many. The cast is also fairly unspectacular. Some familiar faces for German film buffs like Weis and Brauer, who playes the former's love interest in this movie. Heidelinde Weis you also see on the left of the photo here on imdb. She has really been in many films in the past, for many decades in fact, but her name is not as big here in Germany as you could think it is, at least not compared to the likes of Glas, Elsner, maybe Speidel too. The one positive thing I need to say about Weis though is that early in her career, when she was considerably younger, she played in films that weren't total garbage. The same cannot be said about her co-lead here, Elisabeth Lanz. She was always bad. She started her career really low with garbage quality and she has not made a single step up since then. Embarrassing. Also the photo here is a bit cringeworthy I'd say because they are trying so hard to get German housewives to watch this film that it is not even funny anymore.
So yeah, I already said that the script is a mess. There are many examples for that. One prime example is really when Lotti (I expected a younger character with that name) arrives at the place where she suspects Brauer's character and first of all crashes into an ice cream salesman. Also not sure what this was supposed to tell us. That she was so dedicated and determined to find him that she simply tears down every obstacle on the way? Ridiculous really and not in a good way. Very unrealistic too and the film already (ab)used all its realism for the idea that Lotti sees Brauer's character on television and the boat is included too and still has her name. The title is also not a good choice at all. Lotti is not fleeing from anything. If anything, she is heading towards happiness. Fleeing from her old life then perhaps? Not really. We barely find out anything about her old life and there are also no implications that she hated it, even if they keep including how her time with Brauer's character decades ago was the best in her life, no matter how short it may have been. Another reason why the title is not accurate is really that the two older character's story is pretty much over way before the one-hour mark. They have found each other and are together now. Well, somewhat together. The focus switches much more to Brauer's younger helper and the aforementioned Lanz. Or her character. Oh my, was she bad here. Way worse than Weis for sure. There are so many cringeworthy moments involving her and she is probably the only one who manages to make her already really poorly-written character even worse with her complete absence of talent and versatility. Be it the lengthy scene when she plays drunk, the scene when she lies to her fiancé on the phone or the scene when she enters the room where is supposed to sleep and is disgusted by the room, not just the photo of a topless woman being pinned against the wall. Each and every scene, Lanz is a failure and now I know why she only plays in these garbage films. If the path chosen by her character eventually is seen as character development, then I have never ever seen such a bad form of character development in a movie. The lack of talent becomes painfully visible all along. I feel pretty sad for people who (think they) see talent and wit in this film. No matter which perspective you take, it is an utter failure. The oh so happy ending with the younger woman also realizing that she has to leave her man and start dating the gruff co-captain is so for the sake of it. And don't even get me started on the police arrest, the kidnapping idea, the auction at the very end etc. It is all truly horrible and I could give another dozen examples. However, I will not and instead I will try my best to forget this travesty as soon as possible. It is Rosamunde Pilcher / Inga Lindström level, not above that, which means complete trash. Good thing that this was really not seen by many. However, shameful they are still showing it more than 15 years after its initial release. Highly not recommended.
So yeah, I already said that the script is a mess. There are many examples for that. One prime example is really when Lotti (I expected a younger character with that name) arrives at the place where she suspects Brauer's character and first of all crashes into an ice cream salesman. Also not sure what this was supposed to tell us. That she was so dedicated and determined to find him that she simply tears down every obstacle on the way? Ridiculous really and not in a good way. Very unrealistic too and the film already (ab)used all its realism for the idea that Lotti sees Brauer's character on television and the boat is included too and still has her name. The title is also not a good choice at all. Lotti is not fleeing from anything. If anything, she is heading towards happiness. Fleeing from her old life then perhaps? Not really. We barely find out anything about her old life and there are also no implications that she hated it, even if they keep including how her time with Brauer's character decades ago was the best in her life, no matter how short it may have been. Another reason why the title is not accurate is really that the two older character's story is pretty much over way before the one-hour mark. They have found each other and are together now. Well, somewhat together. The focus switches much more to Brauer's younger helper and the aforementioned Lanz. Or her character. Oh my, was she bad here. Way worse than Weis for sure. There are so many cringeworthy moments involving her and she is probably the only one who manages to make her already really poorly-written character even worse with her complete absence of talent and versatility. Be it the lengthy scene when she plays drunk, the scene when she lies to her fiancé on the phone or the scene when she enters the room where is supposed to sleep and is disgusted by the room, not just the photo of a topless woman being pinned against the wall. Each and every scene, Lanz is a failure and now I know why she only plays in these garbage films. If the path chosen by her character eventually is seen as character development, then I have never ever seen such a bad form of character development in a movie. The lack of talent becomes painfully visible all along. I feel pretty sad for people who (think they) see talent and wit in this film. No matter which perspective you take, it is an utter failure. The oh so happy ending with the younger woman also realizing that she has to leave her man and start dating the gruff co-captain is so for the sake of it. And don't even get me started on the police arrest, the kidnapping idea, the auction at the very end etc. It is all truly horrible and I could give another dozen examples. However, I will not and instead I will try my best to forget this travesty as soon as possible. It is Rosamunde Pilcher / Inga Lindström level, not above that, which means complete trash. Good thing that this was really not seen by many. However, shameful they are still showing it more than 15 years after its initial release. Highly not recommended.
