''Big Girls Don't Cry'' (german: Große Mädchen weinen nicht) is a 2002 German

teen Adolescence () is a transitional stage of physical and psychological development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age of majority). Adolescence is usually associated with the te ...

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

film written and directed by

Maria von Heland Maria von Heland (born 25 May 1965) is a Swedish film director and screenwriter. She works in English, German, Swedish and French and is based in Berlin, Germany. Early life Maria von Heland (born 25 May 1965 in Stockholm, Sweden) gained a Ba ...

. It tells the story of two teenage girls in Berlin, one of whom takes revenge on the daughter of her father's lover. A subplot involves a third girl who drifts into pornography and comes to a bad end.

Plot

Kati and Steffi, inseparable since childhood, are teenagers at school. Kati endures a modest and difficult home life with a neurotic mother, but Steffi's family are well off and harmonious. Everything changes when in a

night club A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music. Nightclubs gener ...

the two see Steffi's father entwined with another woman. Furious at this treachery, Steffi plots revenge against the woman's daughter Tessa. First she sends the girl to

audition An audition is a sample performance by an actor, singer, musician, dancer or other performer. It typically involves the performer displaying their talent through a previously memorized and rehearsed solo piece or by performing a work or piece giv ...

for a

band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary *Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania *Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, I ...

, but it emerges that she can sing well and the band like her. That having failed, Steffi sends her to a pornographer, having got the address from a schoolmate Yvonne, who posed to earn some money so that she could leave home. Kati gets worried over Steffi's obsessive behaviour and, tracking down Tessa, rescues her as the pornographer tries to rape her, then reveals why Steffi had sent her to him. Furious after Tessa tells her, Tessa's mother storms round to the home of Steffi's parents and tells them what's been going on, upon which Steffi's mother leaves home. In the meantime, a nationwide police search has been launched for the missing Yvonne. Suspecting the pornographer, Kati recounts all she knows to the

police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...

, who tell her Yvonne has in fact been murdered. Going to see Steffi, she tells her that it was she who saved Tessa and so triggered the crisis in Steffi's family. When Steffi does not appear at school next day, Kati breaks into her home to find she has slashed both wrists. By calling an

ambulance An ambulance is a medically equipped vehicle which transports patients to treatment facilities, such as hospitals. Typically, out-of-hospital medical care is provided to the patient during the transport. Ambulances are used to respond to medi ...

, Kati saves her life and at the

hospital A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emerge ...

Steffi's parents turn up, apparently reconciled. Kati's mother at last shows sympathy towards her daughter and in a final shot the recovering Steffi makes it up with Kati.

Cast

External links

* * * 2002 films 2002 drama films 2000s buddy drama films 2000s German films 2000s German-language films 2000s teen drama films Films about virginity Films set in Berlin Films shot in Berlin German films about revenge German teen drama films Teen buddy films {{2000s-Germany-film-stub