''Stopped on Track'' (german: Halt auf Freier Strecke) is a 2011 German drama film directed by

Andreas Dresen Andreas Dresen (born 16 August 1963) is a German film director. His directing credits include '' Cloud 9'', '' Summer in Berlin'', ''Grill Point'' and ''Night Shapes''. His film '' Stopped on Track'' premiered at the Un Certain Regard section at ...

. It premiered in the

Un Certain Regard (, meaning 'a certain glance') is a section of the Cannes Film Festival's official selection. It is run at the Debussy, parallel to the competition for the . This section was introduced in 1978 by Gilles Jacob. The section presents 20 films w ...

section at the

2011 Cannes Film Festival The 64th Cannes Film Festival was held from 11 to 22 May 2011. American actor Robert De Niro served as the president of the jury for the main competition and French filmmaker Michel Gondry headed the jury for the short film competition. South Ko ...

. The film won the Prize Un Certain Regard, the top award for best film in the section. The win was shared with the South Korean film ''

Arirang "Arirang" (; ) is a Korean folk song. There are about 3,600 variations of 60 different versions of the song, all of which include a refrain similar to "''Arirang, arirang, arariyo'' ()". It is estimated the song is more than 600 years old. ...

'', directed by

Kim Ki-duk Kim Ki-duk ( ; 20 December 196011 December 2020) was a South Korean film director and screenwriter, noted for his idiosyncratic art-house cinematic works. His films have received many distinctions in the festival circuit, rendering him one of ...

Plot

The 44-year-old family man Frank Lange has a proper job and lives with his wife Simone and their children Lilly and Mika in a modern serial house when he learns he suffers with an inoperable

brain tumour A brain tumor occurs when abnormal cells form within the brain. There are two main types of tumors: malignant tumors and benign (non-cancerous) tumors. These can be further classified as primary tumors, which start within the brain, and secondary ...

and has only but a short time left. Supported by his family he uses an

iPod The iPod is a discontinued series of portable media players and multi-purpose mobile devices designed and marketed by Apple Inc. The first version was released on October 23, 2001, about months after the Macintosh version of iTunes ...

to keep daily records of his decline.

Radiation therapy Radiation therapy or radiotherapy, often abbreviated RT, RTx, or XRT, is a therapy using ionizing radiation, generally provided as part of cancer treatment to control or kill malignant cells and normally delivered by a linear accelerator. Radia ...

and chemical treatment take their toll on him. Eventually he grows too weak to leave the house and has

hallucination A hallucination is a perception in the absence of an external stimulus that has the qualities of a real perception. Hallucinations are vivid, substantial, and are perceived to be located in external objective space. Hallucination is a combinatio ...

s during which his tumour seems to appear as a vain actor in a

late-night talk show A late-night talk show is a genre of talk show popular in the United States, where the format originated. It is generally structured around humorous monologues about the day's news, guest interviews, comedy sketches and music performances. It i ...

hosted by

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

's established

TV presenter A television presenter (or television host, some become a "television personality") is a person who introduces, hosts television programs, often serving as a mediator for the program and the audience. Nowadays, it is common for people who garner ...

Harald Schmidt Harald Franz Schmidt (born 18 August 1957) is a German actor, comedian, television presenter and writer best known as the host of two popular German late-night shows. Early and private life A son of refugees who fled from Sudetenland (now C ...

. His children are increasingly overstrained and so is his wife Simone. The tumour deprives Frank from memory, orientational ability and even control of basic body functions. Fighting the pain with always stronger doses of morphium he loses his true personality and finally his

speech Speech is a human vocal communication using language. Each language uses Phonetics, phonetic combinations of vowel and consonant sounds that form the sound of its words (that is, all English words sound different from all French words, even if ...

. Having become a nursing case of the highest degree he dies at last in his home amidst his family. When actually everybody is lost for words, his daughter Lilly, an ambitious diver, utters: "I have to attend training".

Cast

Milan Peschel Milan Peschel (born 1968) is a German actor. He appeared in more than fifty films since 1999. Selected filmography References External links * 1968 births Living people German male film actors {{Germany-actor-stub ...

as Frank *

Steffi Kühnert Steffi Kühnert (born 19 February 1963) is a German actress. She appeared in more than eighty films since 1978. Since November 2009, she has been a professor of acting at the Ernst Busch Academy of Dramatic Art, where she was previously a guest l ...

as Simone * Mika Seidel as Mika * Talisa Lilli Lemke as Lilly *

Otto Mellies Otto Mellies (19 January 1931 – 26 April 2020) was a German actor on stage, in film and television, and a voice actor. He was known for his performance of the title role of Lessing's ''Nathan the Wise'' on stage 325 times. Life and career Me ...

as Frank's father Ernst *

Christine Schorn Christine Schorn (born 1 February 1944) is a German actress. Schorn has appeared in multiple films and TV shows including '' Apprehension'' (1982), ''According to the Plan'' (2007) and ''Das Leben ist nichts für Feiglinge ''Life Is Not for C ...

as Frank's mother *

Ursula Werner Ursula Werner (; born 28 September 1943) is a German actress. Biography Born in Eberswalde, Werner grew up in the Prenzlauer Berg district of Berlin. After studying at the Staatliche Schauspielschule Berlin (Berlin State Drama College), she o ...

as Simone's mother * Marie Rosa Tietjen as Simone's sister *

as himself

Reception

Accolades

*Rated as ''Besonders wertvoll'' (English: "Especially valuable") by Deutsche Film- und Medienbewertung *2012 ''

Deutscher Filmpreis The German Film Award (), also known as Lola after its prize statuette, is the national film award of Germany. It is presented at an annual ceremony honouring cinematic achievements in the German film industry. Besides being the most important ...

References

External links

* * * * 2011 films German drama films 2010s German-language films 2011 drama films Films directed by Andreas Dresen 2010s German films {{2010s-Germany-film-stub