''Kokowääh'' is a 2011 German film directed by
Til Schweiger
Tilman Valentin Schweiger (; born 19 December 1963) is a German actor, voice actor and filmmaker. He runs his own production company, Barefoot Films, in Berlin.
Early life
Schweiger was born in Freiburg, West Germany, to two teachers. He grew ...
. It was released in German-speaking countries (Germany, Austria,
South Tyrol
it, Provincia Autonoma di Bolzano – Alto Adige lld, Provinzia Autonoma de Balsan/Bulsan – Südtirol
, settlement_type = Autonomous area, Autonomous Provinces of Italy, province
, image_skyline = ...
and Switzerland) on 3 February 2011.
The film stars Til Schweiger, his daughter
Emma Schweiger
Emma Tiger Schweiger (born 26 October 2002) is a German-American actress. She is known for playing the role of Cheyenne Blue in the 2007 film ''Keinohrhasen'' and its 2009 sequel ''Zweiohrküken'' and the role of Magdalena in ''Kokowääh'' and ...
,
Jasmin Gerat and Samuel Finzi. Another of Schweiger's daughters,
Luna Schweiger
Luna Marie Schweiger (born 11 January 1997) is a German actress. She is best known for her role in the 2007 film '' Keinohrhasen'' and its 2009 sequel ''Zweiohrküken'', directed by her father Til Schweiger.
Family
Schweiger was born on 11 Ja ...
, makes a small appearance in the film. ''Kokowääh'' is an
onomatopoetic
Onomatopoeia is the process of creating a word that phonetically imitates, resembles, or suggests the sound that it describes. Such a word itself is also called an onomatopoeia. Common onomatopoeias include animal noises such as ''oink'', ''m ...
depiction of the French pronunciation of
coq au vin
''Coq au vin'' (; , "rooster/cock with wine") is a French dish of chicken braised with wine, lardons, mushrooms, and optionally garlic.
A red Burgundy wine is typically used, though many regions of France make variants using local wines, such ...
.
A sequel, ''
Kokowääh 2'', was released on 7 February 2013 with Schweiger having returned as director, co-writer and producer.
Plot
''Kokowääh'' is set in
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...
and
Potsdam
Potsdam () is the capital and, with around 183,000 inhabitants, largest city of the German state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream o ...
.
The plot concerns the travails of Henry (
Til Schweiger
Tilman Valentin Schweiger (; born 19 December 1963) is a German actor, voice actor and filmmaker. He runs his own production company, Barefoot Films, in Berlin.
Early life
Schweiger was born in Freiburg, West Germany, to two teachers. He grew ...
), an established author of fiction, who must deal with the emergence of his eight-year-old natural daughter Magdalena (
Emma Schweiger
Emma Tiger Schweiger (born 26 October 2002) is a German-American actress. She is known for playing the role of Cheyenne Blue in the 2007 film ''Keinohrhasen'' and its 2009 sequel ''Zweiohrküken'' and the role of Magdalena in ''Kokowääh'' and ...
), the previously unknown product of a
one-night indiscretion in
Stockholm. In the meantime, he is also working on the adaptation of a famous best–selling novel and reconciling with his ex–girlfriend Katharina (
Jasmin Gerat), with whom he is working on the adaptation. Little Magdalena, still in the state of shock, loves her foster father Tristan (Samuel Finzi) more than the biological one. Throughout the film, Henry and Magdalena build a close relationship, which he eventually describes in his script "Kokowääh" (referring to the French meal "Coq au vin").
Cast
Production
''Kokowääh'' was filmed in
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...
and
Potsdam
Potsdam () is the capital and, with around 183,000 inhabitants, largest city of the German state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream o ...
from 21 July to 13 September 2010. The budget was estimated to be €5,650,000.
Director and lead actor
Til Schweiger
Tilman Valentin Schweiger (; born 19 December 1963) is a German actor, voice actor and filmmaker. He runs his own production company, Barefoot Films, in Berlin.
Early life
Schweiger was born in Freiburg, West Germany, to two teachers. He grew ...
and Béla Jarzyk, who also produced the film, wrote the script in a Turkish hotel in Berlin.
Critical reception
''Kokowääh'' received the
Golden Screen Award, which is given to films that have been watched by more than 3 million viewers.
It was the most successful film in Germany in the first half of 2011.
The film itself received generally good to mixed reviews. Andreas Scheiner of weekly magazine ''
Die Zeit'' found the film "light and entertaining", though he added it "lacked depth".
Dieter Oßwald of the Programmkino.de praised the film as a "strong–point daddy–comedy".
Andrea Butz of public radio station
WDR2, however, criticized the film for "one–dimensional leaps and drawn characters".
Jan Füchtjohann of the ''
Süddeutsche Zeitung'' also criticized ''Kokowääh'', writing it showed "over long distances like a commercial for yogurt".
Boyd van Hoeij described the film in his review for ''
Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' as a ″series of mismatched-duo cliches spun out across a two-hour-plus running time" with ″a pretty decent if unoriginal 80-minute film hiding somewhere in this bloated two-hour-plus exercise″. His prediction: ″Though its $38 million haul makes it Germany's highest grosser of 2011 so far, biz beyond central Europe, Schweiger's only base, will again be minimal."
Other media
Music
The soundtrack album for ''Kokowääh'' was released on 4 February 2011 on
iTunes and
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational technology company focusing on e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. It has been referred to as "one of the most influential econo ...
through
Sony Music
Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainme ...
. The lead single "
Stay
Stay may refer to:
Places
* Stay, Kentucky, an unincorporated community in the US
Law
* Stay of execution, a ruling to temporarily suspend the enforcement of a court judgment
* Stay of proceedings, a ruling halting further legal process in a tri ...
" by British
synthpop band
Hurts
Hurts are an English musical duo formed in Manchester in 2009, consisting of singer Theo Hutchcraft and multi-instrumentalist Adam Anderson. They have released five studio albums: ''Happiness'' (2010), ''Exile'' (2013), ''Surrender'' (2015), ' ...
was released on 4 February in Germany, reaching number three at the
German singles chart
The GfK Entertainment charts are the official music charts in Germany and are gathered and published by GfK Entertainment (formerly Media Control and Media Control GfK International), a subsidiary of GfK, on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindust ...
and achieving
gold certification.
The music video for "Stay" has two versions, the regular one and the one that features parts from ''Kokowääh''.
Home media
''Kokowääh'' was released on both
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...
and
Blu-ray
The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of st ...
on 19 August 2011
on
iTunes and
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational technology company focusing on e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. It has been referred to as "one of the most influential econo ...
.
Release dates
References
External links
Official website(archived)
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kokowaah
2011 films
2011 comedy films
German comedy films
2010s German-language films
Films directed by Til Schweiger
Films scored by Martin Todsharow
Films set in Berlin
Films about screenwriters
Warner Bros. films
2010s German films