previously published on Cineuropa
According to the statistics printed on a textual info-card during the ending of Marc Rothemund’s Weekend Rebels, one in every 100 children is autistic. Since autism is a spectrum, the manifestation of it and the needs of autistic people are diverse, so they very much depend on the response from their immediate environment – especially its understanding, acceptance and support.
Rothemund’s film is based on the true story of Mirco and Jason von Juterczenka, which was previously published as a blog and a book by Mirco himself. The Zagreb Film Festival has screened it in the Kino Kino competition, which showcases children’s flicks.
Jason was born with Asperger’s, which prevents him from functioning as neurotypical kids do. As the specialist informs his parents, Mirco (Florian David Fitz) and Fatime (Aylin Tezel), he can develop special interests and thrive by pursuing knowledge about them, but he needs a strict set of rules to abide by as well as their constant love and support. Jason (newcomer Cecilio Andersen) grows up to be a smart, curious boy interested in space, advanced physics and the preservation of the environment, but is also attached to some of his routines and rituals that make little sense to others.
At school, he is not accepted by his peers, and he sometimes reacts to their provocations with violence. One thing he gets from them, however, is the notion that he needs to pick a football club to support. Since his parents support different teams, he forges a system to test all of the German professional clubs against his set of rules so as to find the one he should support. Mirco volunteers to take him to games across Germany, which comes as a relief to Fatime, who is exhausted from caring for Jason and his needs.
Insights from Grandpa (Joachim Król) and from other football fans might come in handy, but Jason has to learn how to put up with a world that irritates him with loud noises, vivid colours, involuntary touches and situations that bring his rules into conflict with one another. Can Jason learn how to stand this outside world that he cannot control in order to fulfil his goal?
Weekend Rebels is clearly a film with a positive message of patience, tolerance and understanding to convey, which it does through the simple, but efficient, script by Richard Kropf. Marc Rothemund, best known for his acclaimed 2005 Berlinale title Sophie Scholl: The Final Days [+], directs it in a fitting, not overly obtrusive, way that is still dynamic enough to hold the attention of the target audiences – kids and their parents – even in the slightly repetitive scenes and sequences. The dynamic camerawork by Philip Peschlow in bright and vivid colours certainly helps, and so do the striking sound design by Lena Beck and the rapid editing by Hans Horn and Chris Mühlbauer. The omnipresent, gentle music by Johnny Klimek and Hans Hafner is, on the other hand, a bit too on the nose in its attempts to dictate the viewer’s feelings.
The acting is also solid throughout. Cecilio Andersen is bubbly and believable in the role of Jason, while Florian David Fitz imbues Mirco’s character with the gentle energy of a father willing to go the extra mile to please his son. On the other hand, Aylin Tezel does not have that much work to do as Fatime, but veteran thesp Joachim Król steals a few scenes as the football-loving Grandpa. In the end, Weekend Rebels overflows with warmth and empathy.