Center of My World is a German foreign language film about
Phil, a teenager who returns to his hometown after spending a summer away
from his friends and family at camp.
The film follows Phil as he comes back home to find that his sister and mother’s relationship has torn apart.
The film follows Phil as he comes back home to find that his sister and mother’s relationship has torn apart.
With a patchy family life, Center of My World follows Phil as he
tries to bring normality back to his life by spending time with his best friend
Kat, restarting school and getting closer to a classmate he has a crush on.
Center of My World touches on an array of familial themes
relating to life in a single parent family, living alternative lifestyles and
the importance family and friends have on a person during rough times.
The film also stars Louis Hofmann who
also starred in the German film Freistatt and in Netflix’s breakout TV series Dark (which is an incredible TV show that you should watch, too).
Synopsis
As touched on above Center of My World focuses on it’s main character Phil. After a summer away from home he returns find his sister and mother giving each other the cold shoulder, not speaking a word to each other.
Soon enough Phil begins to spend less time at home. He chooses to dive right back into school and spending time with his best friend Kat. Both Phil and Kat are loud, unapologetic and love to go on mini adventures everyday.
Phil soon develops a crush on a boy in his class, Nicholas,
and begins to shadow him around school. After a few awkward encounters to two
boys decide to spend more time together. Which quickly turns into a relationship.
The remainder of the film follows Phil as he divides his
time between Kat, Nicholas and his estranged mother. All while Phil tries to
uncover what horrible thing tore his family apart.
Important Themes
Center of My World touches on many real world themes revolving around family. Phil does not live in a ‘traditional’ household by any means. His mother is something of a free spirit and raised her children with the help of her two best friends (who are lesbians).
Phil and his sister have never known their father and only know the smallest of details about him. This backstory brings together a very delicate family narrative, which allows the film to explore some intimate familial issues.
In the real world, statistics show that single parent
families are on the rise in Germany. 2009 and 2013 ‘microcensuses’ show that one out of five mothers and fathers raise their children alone.
With 19 percent of all families with children under the age of 18 having only one parent, a statistic that has grown by five percent over the past decade.
With 19 percent of all families with children under the age of 18 having only one parent, a statistic that has grown by five percent over the past decade.
The 2009 microcensus also showed that single parent families
were also more likely to live in poverty, with 31 percent of single-mother
families living on incomes of less than €1,100 per month.
Additionally, according to the 2013 microcensus
the number of unmarried or same-sex relationships with at least one
child in Germany has also increased from 5 percent to 10 percent.
Moreover, 2017 statistics from the German Federal Statistics Office show that divorce rates have dropped to a
25-year low. Dropping by 0.6 percent from the previous year. The data reflected
that German marriages on average last for 15 years. Whereas in 1991, marriages
on average lasted only 11 years and nine months.
As a whole it appears that marriages are enduring.
However, Eurostat representatives also indicate that "legal alternatives to marriage, like registered partnership, have become more widespread and national legislation has changed to confer more rights on unmarried couples."
However, Eurostat representatives also indicate that "legal alternatives to marriage, like registered partnership, have become more widespread and national legislation has changed to confer more rights on unmarried couples."
Conclusion
Center of My World is film that will catch you off guard with its charm. The film displays highs, lows and many complex in-betweens.
As a
viewer you go through so many emotions just like Phil. You are met with happiness,
fear, confusion, truth and a lot of uncertainty. And yet, by the end of the
film everything makes sense.
Center of My World is a film you should definitely watch. It
ropes you in with an intriguing story and has you make sense of a world riddled
with many intricacies through the eyes of a hopeful teenager.
