How I taught myself to be a child

Press quotes

The film adaptation of André Heller's novel of the same name is a colourful surprise package that is sometimes touching, sometimes funny, highly idiosyncratic and full of surprises for the viewer. The film celebrates the unusual, the strange, the non-conformist. It is a passionate plea to escape normality, because the world has so much more to offer if you just open your eyes and, above all, your mind. This gives Rupert Henning's film an almost fairy-tale-like, visually stunning, but at times also grim quality reminiscent of the early works of Tim Burton, while the opulent, extravagant visuals often resemble Luchino Visconti's films. This is, of course, an unusual mixture, but one that works. It’s essentially a coming-of-age story, but it is told in a way that is rarely seen in German-language cinema. Because it is exceptionally playful and manages to find the right mix of comedy and tragedy against a magnificent backdrop. There is much to laugh, marvel and mourn as we watch a boy become a man who holds up a distorting mirror to the world with his own strangeness.
Jan Treber, Prisma

The rise of the sparkling André Heller: The film adaptation of his story also has the courage to take a different approach.
Der Standard

The film features a remarkable cast, even in the smallest roles: Gerti Drassl as a nun, Robert Seethaler as the prefect general, Udo Samel as one of the bizarre uncles, Marianne Nentwich as Aunt Tuva – these are beautiful colours for this painting.
Die Presse

A touching, humorous and harmonious adventure drama about an adolescent's journey of self-discovery.
TV-Spielfilm

Although the film is set in the 1950s, it feels fresh and dynamic. It is a film that inspires and encourages us to be different.
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