Young Goethe in Love! (English Subtitled)

For the hopeless romantics, "Young Goethe in Love" is a fantastic, enchanting romantic comedy!
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, the legendary German writer and the man of all talents, from art to science and considered a genius of modern German literature who is known for his works of poetry, drama, philosophy and science.

Known for his drama "Faust" and the "Marienbad Elegy" to name a few, when it comes to romance stories, Goethe will forever be remembered for his short epistolary and loosely autobiographical novel titled "Die Leiden des jungen Werthers" (The Sorrows of Young Werther), which was published back in 1774.

It was a novel that was inspired by pain of loving someone so much, but yet not being able to be with them. Pain of losing someone and for love, a sacrifice had to be made.

Suffice to say, "The Sorrows of Young Werther" was a hit and a novel that would propel Goethe to superstar status and even created a fad in which many young men would take their lives because some interpreted "suicide" as the best form of showing one's love and...

I Liked It!
I love Goethe (with an oe). I didn't know if I'd like this film since I, like other Goethephiles, have my "concept" of this man. I was very happily surprised by the light-hearted sweetness of the characterization of Goethe at age 23. As a writer I deeply appreciated the strategy used by the filmmakers in showing Goethe's way of contending with hopeless love, his broken heart. I liked the lines put into Lotte's mouth; I liked the way the piece was filmed and the characterization of the "minor" characters such as Lotte's and Goethe's fathers. I loved the Faust puppet show that was dimly slipped into a market scene; I loved the self-mockery and playfulness of the film and its characters. It was just a pleasure to watch. I wish someone would make a film of Goethe's last love, that which the Marienbad Elegies are written. I'm actually buying a DVD.

Not Shakespeare in love ...
Despite the American distributor's shameless try to milk the Shakespeare in Love audience as much as possible by changing the title to the above, this film is definitely not trying to be the same movie. Sure it has some similarities and the filmmakers were no doubt aware of this, but the tone of the film, the story itself, and the emotional power are very different from each other. Goethe! (as was the original European title) is, sure, like Shakes in Love in that it's about a famous artist when he was young and right before he "finds his voice" and what causes him to find that voice is romantic heartbreak. The major difference to me is that in Goethe's case we know this to be a fact. If you've read The Sorrows of Young Werther or know of the story or know of Goethe's personal life, then you know what happens in this film - while they twist things here and there - is for the most part all true. Fact relates to fiction in an odd way but it relates to in a more profound way...

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