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‘Der verlorene Mann’ Opens Across German Cinemas

The debut draws on real people with dementia to root a tender study of love, memory, duty, aging.

Overview

  • The feature, which begins its nationwide run on Thursday, May 7, marks Welf Reinhart’s first full-length film.
  • The plot follows an ex-husband with Alzheimer’s who forgets a decades-old divorce and returns to his former wife, creating a quiet three-person bond with her and her current partner.
  • Harald Krassnitzer, Dagmar Manzel, and August Zirner star in the lead roles, with strong interest at domestic screenings after a festival bow in Rotterdam.
  • Reinhart trained as a dementia caregiver, spent about a year with two men living with the illness, and shot scenes inside real cooking and singing groups in care settings to keep the film authentic.
  • Reviews in Welt, Süddeutsche Zeitung, and Tagesspiegel praise the nuanced acting and the film’s choice to frame illness as a catalyst for a relationship story, a stance that could prompt wider talk about how families navigate aging and care.