Why Die Siebzehnjährigen is basically a 1929 version of a teen drama

Is it worth your time?

You should probably watch this if you like melodrama and seeing how people lived right before the world changed in the 30s. If you hate slow-moving stories where people stare at each other for a long time, maybe skip it. 🤷‍♂️

It’s a movie for anyone who remembers being seventeen and feeling like the world was ending because of a bad grade or a mean parent. It’s definitely not an action movie.

I wasn't sure what to expect from a movie called Die Siebzehnjährigen. Most films from 1929 are trying to be either super artistic or just plain silly. This one feels like it's just trying to be real.

The classroom scenes are what got me first. The desks look so tiny and stiff. You can almost smell the old wood and the chalk dust in the air. 🏫

Grete Mosheim is the one to watch here. She has these massive eyes that seem to hold about five different emotions at once. She doesn't have to say a word to let you know she's completely miserable at home.

There is a moment where she’s looking out a window and the light hits her face just right. It’s not even a big plot point, but it felt so honest. It reminded me a bit of the vibe in Motherhood, but maybe a little less heavy-handed.

The adults in this movie are... well, they are a lot. Eduard von Winterstein plays the father figure and he looks like he hasn't smiled since 1912. He’s always standing so rigidly, like he’s wearing a suit made of cardboard.

I noticed that the teenagers all have this specific way of slouching when the parents aren't looking. It’s a very human touch that I didn't expect. It makes the gap between the generations feel huge without the movie having to explain it with text cards.

The plot moves along at a weird pace. Sometimes it feels like we are lingering on a single dinner for ages. Then suddenly, three things happen at once and you’re trying to keep up with who is mad at who. It’s a bit messy, like actual high school life is.

I kept thinking about The Small Town Girl while watching this. Both movies deal with that feeling of being trapped in a life that feels too small for you. But this one feels a bit more gritty around the edges.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Die Siebzehnjährigen (1929) through its definitive frames.

Random things I noticed:

• The way the boys fix their hair when a girl walks by is exactly the same as today.
• There is a dog in one scene that looks very confused to be there. 🐶
• The intertitles are sometimes way too long, like they were trying to write a novel.
• Manfred Voss has a very expressive forehead.
• The lighting in the library scene was actualy kind of bad, very grainy.

There is a scene with a letter that goes on for about thirty seconds too long. We see the letter. We see the person reading the letter. Then we see the person thinking about the letter. We get it! It's a sad letter!

But then there are these bursts of energy. Like when the kids are out in the woods. The camera suddenly feels like it’s breathing. It’s a huge contrast to the stuffy indoor scenes.

Vera Baranovskaya is also in this, and she’s great as usual. She has a way of being present in a scene even when she’s just standing in the background. It’s a shame she doesn't have more to do, honeslty.

I did find myself checking how much time was left around the hour mark. The middle section drags a little bit. It’s like the movie forgot it had a story to finish and just wanted to hang out with the characters for a while. ⏳

The ending feels rushed. It’s like they realized they were running out of film and had to wrap everything up in five minutes. It’s not a perfect resolution, but maybe that’s the point. Life doesn't always have a clean ending when you're seventeen.

If you liked The Goofy Age, you might find this a bit too serious. But if you want something that feels like a time capsule of what it felt like to be young in Germany back then, it's a solid choice.

The acting is realy the reason to stay. Even when the plot gets a bit thin, the faces keep you interested. It’s amazing how much you can tell about someone just by the way they hold their shoulders. 👤

One reaction shot of Carl Balhaus lingers so long it almost becomes funny. He just stares. And stares. You start wondering if he forgot his next move or if the director just liked his face too much to cut away.

I also liked the fashion. The hats are ridiculous but everyone wears them with so much confidence. I wish we still wore hats like that, even if they look like they’d blow off in a light breeze.

It’s not a masterpiece, and it’s definitely not something I’d watch every week. But it stuck with me. I kept thinking about those kids and their tiny desks long after I turned it off.

It’s a quiet film. Not just because it's silent, but because the stakes are small and personal. It’s just about growing up. And that’s usually enough. ✨