Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Bookmark this pagePeppermint Freedom (1984)
Director: Marianne SW Rosenbaum
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
Marianne Rosenbaum's first feature returns to the well-thumbed time of Germany, year zero, as seen through the eyes of a little girl (Tyroller), living in US-occupied Bavaria, for whom postwar freedom is as palpable as the tastes of peppermint and fresh-ground coffee. Her fantasies focus on Mr Frieden/Freedom (Fonda), a larger-than-life American soldier with a great big black sedan, a huge toothpaste ad grin, infinite supplies of Wrigley's spearmint gum, and the hots for one of the local women. All streng verboten by the village priest, whose awful warnings of the red peril, hellfire and nuclear holocaust blur and balloon in the little girl's mind to the point of nervous breakdown. The kids emerge, refreshingly, not as cute moppets but as beings with a sense of wonder, scepticism and implacable logic that shows up the adult world as absurd and impoverished. And while Rosenbaum comes to some melancholy conclusions, her arresting, grainy images and sharp eye for the incongruous take her there with considerable astringency and wit.Author: SJo
Cast & crew
Director: Marianne SW Rosenbaum
Cast: Peter Fonda, Saskia Tyroller, Hans Brenner, Hans Peter Korff, Cleo Kretschmer full cast
Duration: 112 mins
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
Our verdict on Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones
Peter Jackson ends a triumphant decade with a sentimental misfire with this lush Alice Sebold adaptation
On the set of Ken Loach's 'Route Irish'
Dave Calhoun meets Ken Loach on the set of his forthcoming Iraq war movie
Stephen Poliakoff discusses 'Glorious 39'
Stephen Poliakoff’s ‘Glorious 39’ is his first film for cinema since ‘Food of Love’ in 1997. Dave Calhoun met him
Is 'Paranormal Activity' the new 'Blair Witch'?
How does a film go from DIY experiment to box-office smash? 'Paranormal Activity' director Oren Peli explains
Steven Soderbergh on 'The Informant!' and 'The Girlfriend Experience'
We talk to Steven Soderbergh about his two forthcoming films: one featuring a porn star, the other a chubby Matt Damon
A gateway to all things 'New Moon'
In anticipation of 'The Twilight Saga: New Moon', Time Out is offering the chance to pick up a limited edition pack with three exclusive magazines and a free poster.
London Children's Film Festival
Read our exclusive reviews of films playing at the 2009 London Children’s Film Festival
The films that deserve a TV spin-off
With Roland Emmerich suggesting he'd like to make a '2012' TV spin-off, we propose some more movie-to-TV serialisations
The Coen brothers discuss 'A Serious Man'
Masters of contrary comedy, Joel and Ethan Coen have struck gold again with their latest, ‘A Serious Man’
Time Out's 50 greatest animated films with commentary by Terry Gilliam
In celebration of the release of Pixar's 'Up' and Wes Anderson's 'Fantastic Mr Fox', read our rundown of fifty classic feature length animations
What do you think?
Post your review now