Spielzeugland (2007) User Reviews

Good filmmakers don't need a feature to make powerful movies

[anhedonia · 9/10 · 16 February 2009]

"Toyland" is a film that works so brilliantly that it managed to be powerful, thought-provoking and even gut-wrenching than most Hollywood films that are 8 to 10 times longer. With sparse dialogue, director Jochen Alexander Freydank keeps us hooked throughout this superb short film.

Set during the Holocaust, a German woman frantically searches for her son, who might have decided to accompany his Jewish neighbors to a Nazi concentration camp because the Jewish family's young son and her son are best friends.

The film is elegantly shot and wonderfully acted. There is more poignancy and true emotion in this film than I have seen in most Hollywood films in recent times.

Director Freydank moves his story along, with us always wondering not only what comes next but how this is going to end. And then comes the denouement: A truly remarkable twist that says much about the human spirit. It is a moment that will break your heart while simultaneously make you smile.

If you have the chance to see this, and the other Oscar-nominated live action shorts, do yourself a favor and watch them. Believe me, it will be time much better spent than, say, on "New In Town" or most any other mainstream Hollywood film.

Very good and probably the odds on favorite for the Oscar

[planktonrules · 9/10 · 7 February 2009]

Today I went with three friends to a special showing of all the films nominated for the 2009 Oscar for Best Live Action Short. Oddly, the four of us were in pretty much agreement about the films. Our pick for best of the nominees was PIG ("Grisen"), though ON THE LINE ("Auf der Strecke") was a very good film and is nearly as deserving of the award. We predicted that TOYLAND ("Spielzeugland"), however, will win the award because it's the sort of the film the Academy tends to like AND because PIG might ruffle some feathers because it is not "politically correct". I'll update this review after the awards are given.

TOYLAND is a film set during the Nazi era. A boy asks his mother about why all his neighbors (all Jews) are disappearing. She explains that everything is okay and that they have gone to "Toyland". Unfortunately, it sounds like such a nice place that the kid hopes to go there, too, and the film begins with him sneaking off with a shipment of Jews to the concentration camps because he wants to visit this magical place.

Much of the film consists of the mother trying to find the boy and eventually the SS officers help her to try to locate the boy. This all ends in a marvelous twist that I won't reveal here, but this twist takes the film from the ordinary to the extraordinary.

A lovely film that will probably win--in part, because the film is about an important subject that the Academy seems to like, the Holocaust (and highly reminiscent of LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL), and in part because it is so exceptionally well-crafted from start to finish. My only reservation is that the print was awfully dark--practically everything looked black at times. Perhaps it was just a bad print.

UPDATE: It's official, TOYLAND is the winner. This didn't surprise me at all and it was well deserving of the award, though I was still pulling for PIG to take the honors.

Blood brothers

[sashank_kini-1 · 8/10 · 27 August 2011]

Usually, I don't watch short films but after seeing and reviewing about five feature films in three days, I needed to see a movie that could capture a gamut of emotions in few minutes and that is precisely what 'Toyland' does. It takes one of the most crucial periods in history - the holocaust and brings it down to the lives of two families and an incident that changes the course of their lives in the dark period.

A mother finds her son Heinrich missing one day, after she tells him the previous day that their neighbors are moving to Toyland. The prospect of going to a place filled with toys titillates Heinrich and he gets too eager to go with the neighbors, which includes his best friend Paul. The first seven minutes oscillate between flashbacks of Heinrich's excitement and the mother's frantic search. This leads to an end that is so poignant, gripping, chilling and fascinating that it brought tears to my eyes. The fourteen minute film so effortlessly manages to touch the audiences that it truly deserves all the accolades that it has got. 8 out of 10.

different

[Kirpianuscus · 30 September 2017]

the films about Shoah are many. but "Toyland" is different. for its intensity. for its switch. for the exploration of an explanation and a fundamental decision. and, sure, for something who remains out of words. because it is a film about hope. and about miracle in a form who seems so easy to define than remains deep way impressive. a mother, her son, theirs neighbors.and a piano. nothing more but enough for a so intense film, profound provocative, than it becomes a serious challenge for the viewer. to become himself. in better version.

seen it before

[synergy386 · 8/10 · 17 February 2009]

I just saw Spielzeugland and recognized the whole plot almost from the beginning. I am positive I've seen it before, or read it. Does anyone else remember it? There was a Q&A with the writer and he didn't mention getting the plot from somewhere else. Anyone out there know this story from a maybe book or a t.v. show? That said, I did find it very moving and upsetting. The actress who played the mother did a fine job, as did the piano teacher. People may say holocaust-themed movies are overdone, but I don't think so; that era needs to be kept alive in peoples' minds so that it doesn't fade into oblivion as the final survivors die out. It's hard to believe the entire film is only l4 minutes long.

Fascinating short about, among other things, just what it means to be a parent.

[llltdesq · 9/10 · 24 March 2014]

This short won the Academy Award for Live Action Short. There will be mild spoilers ahead:

The basic premise of this short is that a Jewish family is about to be deported to a camp and when another boy whose best friend is among those going away asks his mother just where they're going, she tells him what she thinks is a comforting lie-that his friend David is going to "Toyland".

Naturally, the other little boy, Heinrich, wants to go with his friend, only to be told by everyone that he can't go, with no real explanation, just that he can't go. He decides he's going, regardless of what anyone says and so he packs a bag and follows them to the train.

His mother finds out he's missing and races off to find him before it's too late. She encounters unfeeling, uncaring neighbors and suspicious SS men, one of whom thinks shes Jewish herself. Ultimately, they believe that she's serious and they go to check the train.

The ending of the short is quite good and should be seen. This short is on DVD/Blu-Ray as part of a compilation of Academy Award winning animated and live action shots released by Shorts International. The short itself is very good and the compilation is excellent. Most recommended.

Dark

[dunkirkafternoon · 7/10 · 18 July 2022]

Toyland is a German short film, directed by Jochen Alexander Freydank. The film relates with the Holocaust. It depicts the fates of non-Jewish family and Jewish family.

There are some good points in the film. First of all, I was very attracted by the first scene. The film begins with the images of chain like a four-handed performance on the piano and a spiral staircase. These images not only give the audience a feeling of immersion, but also cause them uneasiness.

Second, the audience is not the only one to use their imagination. The characters in the film are less able to predict their own destiny, compared to other movies. Children constantly imagine the truth of Toyland. On the other hand, adults work hard to help their children. Therefore, some people find it hard to watch the film.

To conclude, it is worth seeing. Also, it is a good movie to know the gruesomeness of the Holocaust.

Parent's pretending for ,,,

[yasumaru-32948 · 10/10 · 12 January 2024]

Toyland is a very good short film about the story in Germany during World War 2. In the first scene, two boys Heinrich and David, are playing the piano together. David is Jewish. David and his parents will be forced to move to a concentration camp soon and they know that. Heinrich does not understand the situation and believes they are going to a good place "Toyland" because his mother told him that. So, he wishes to go to Toyland with David's family and packs up his things. On the day David is taken to the train station, Heinrich goes to the vehicle rounding people up to join, but he cannot go because he is not Jewish. However, Heinrich's mother notices he is gone and runs to the station to find her son.

She explains the situation and two men take her to the train. When the door opens, Heinrich is not there. David is there. She thinks a lot of things in a moment and pretends David is Heinrich because he will die if he goes to a concentration camp. His parents also think a lot of things to save their son, and so pretend their son is Heinrich just like Heinrich's mother does. As a result, David is taken to Heinrich's home and both of them get older together. In the last scene, we can see two old men (David and Heinrich) are playing the same song that they were playing in the first scene on the piano. I was really impressed with the story, especially when Heinrich's mother and David's parents pretend David is Heinrich to protect David. I think his parents want to say goodbye and I love you, but they didn't say that to protect him. I was saddened by the depiction of the door being closed quickly and forcefully.

There is no Toyland

[Horst_In_Translation · 6/10 · 17 May 2015]

This is what the little German boy shouts when he is given back to his mother and taken away from his best friend who is about to go on a journey to Toyland. Obviously he is going somewhere else, a much darker place and even if little Heinrich does not exactly understand what is going on, he still realizes that it has to be something sinister. This 14-minute short was written and directed by Jochen Alexander Freydank and won an Academy Award and many many other prizes at film festivals all around the globe. It is a bit sad to see that, to this date, Freydank (and his co-writer) have not managed to build on that Oscar win at all in terms of full feature films, although he has been more prolific in recent years than right after the big victory. So maybe there is hope. Julia Jäger, on the other hand, the lead actress has been very prolific before and after this film.

I personally thought this was a good short movie. The actor who played the Jew father did a very fine job without even talking and the rest of the cast were all solid too. The best (most ironic) moment is when the Nazi officer apologizes to the mother for the unlucky circumstances right in the face of hundreds of Jews who are about to go on their last journey. What I did not like that much was that it is not narrated in chronological order. I guess otherwise my rating may have been even better. And the mother is not the smartest either if she believes she can keep the son from joining his best friend by telling there are huge teddy bears in Toyland. Obviously, the whole Toyland idea was a massive lie to confront her son not with the evil that was going on (if she was understanding it herself), but the consequence of this lie was finally that little Heinrich was confronted with it as much as it could have happened. Good movie. Recommended.

the movie that anyone want to watch twice

[pinefgsgsu · 8/10 · 24 December 2021]

Toyland is a short drama film. It was made in Germany in 2007. This won an Oscar in 2009. The setting is the German Nazi regime. A mother finds her son is not in their house when his Jewish friend is taken away in the morning. The mother is looking for him because she remembers she says the concentration camp is the Toyland to her son when she is asked about the concentration camp and the son wants to go there. She goes to search the train which conveys Jewish people to the concentration camp and she only finds the friend's family. When she encounters the family, she takes action. I think the story makes the audience confused. However, I feel the complex order of the story is a charm of the film because I was surprised by the revealed facts as the story goes on. Moreover, the last scene is moving. I think the audience may want to watch this film again and again.

Little bit confused

[momorytm · 6/10 · 25 February 2019]

A little German boy and his neighborhood little Jewish boy are good friends like blood brother. One day, a German boy tries to go on a trip to Toyland with his best friend. The tone of the film was really dark and it can be told by the filter and the music in film. And, the title not only shows a keyword in film but also effectively contradicts with the theme and emphasize the grief represented in the film. At first glance, I cannot follow what is happening because the film does not follow the chorological order. And, I am still wondering whether the mother saves her neighborhood child intentionally from the beginning or notices that his child is not on train and saves his neighborhood child unintentionally. But, I still have a question about the consequence either way. I think that the mother saves him simply for his son and the Jewish parents. Yet, I sense that there is still more important factor in the scene of meeting the Jewish kid on a train. Overall, this film makes us think about the history of Jewish people and Nazi Germany and reminds us not to make it such tragedy again.

Toyland

[b-96128 · 8/10 · 3 March 2019]

This film is based on the sad history, discrimination, and massacre of Jewish people. There are two boys who like to play the piano, one is Jewish, and the other one Heinrich is not, and they are best friends. One day, Heinrich's mother finds that her son is gone, and misunderstands that he went with his friend because she used to tell him they are going to the Toyland. She asks and explains to police that her son is gone and she is not Jewish, and she finally reaches the train carrying only Jewish people. The door is opened, but Heinrich is not there, the boy stands there was the friend. Then she understands everything, and she is pretending that he is Heinrich and saves the friend. When I was watching that scene, I was so nervous and felt my heart beats so fast. It was so relieving to see that kids are saved, but still questionable that this kind of things is not likely happening. I liked it because the structure of this film and acting are wonerful.

interesting

[satoshiwindow · 7/10 · 20 July 2022]

"Spielzeugland" is a short historical film which was released in Germany in 2007. The English title is "Toyland" which is the important word in the story. This was awarded an Oscar for Best Live Action Short Film in 2009.

At the beginning of the story,two pairs of hands are playing the piano. Suddenly, the scene changes, and it turns to morning. A mother, Marian, enters her son's room to wake him up. Immediately, she realizes her son has disappeared, so she rushes downstairs. The scene goes back to the night of two children playing the piano together. Marian and David's mother go into a room and say "They are still playing" In this room, David and Heinrich are playing a piano. David's mother says she wants David to keep practicing the piano but he can't. Since they are Jewish, they have to go to concentration camps. Heinrich and Marian are non-Jewish so Marian told Heinrich that David and his family will go to Toyland tomorrow.

By using a non-chronological storyline, the film succeeds in giving active questions such as "Is he safe?" which makes it more interesting. I enjoyed this movie.

Something is always touching

[jeeeeeeyoun · 5/10 · 17 February 2020]

The storyline is exciting despite the short duration of movie. The intrigue is remained until the last minute. The atmosphere of WWII is clearly conveyed. It is really hard to predict from the beginning how the movie would end.

This film is a sad story that happened in Germany in 1942.

[anaclara-romero · 1 September 2012]

Toyland review, with spoilers.

This is a dramatic movie. The lead roles were played by a mother, called Marianne, her son, called Heinrich, and her son's friend (a Jewish boy). The supporting characters were played by the Jewish boy's father and mother. It was set in a train station and block of flats. The movie had good acting, in two very strong scenes. One was the part where Marianne pretended that David was her son, risking to be discovered by the Nazis and also when his parents decided to give him to Marianne, knowing that doing this will save his life, even though it was a terrible pain, for them, to see her son with another mother. I think that is a great demonstration of love they have in their family. It shows the Jewish people's suffering in the war.

The plot was about a child who lived in Germany in 1942 and he had a Jewish friend, called David. They played the piano together and spent a lot of time together. Heinrich, the German boy, insistently asked her mother where his friend was going to. She finally answered that he was going to Toyland because his Jewish father had a new job. Heinrich mother's said "Toyland" since she didn't want to say "concentration camp". Her son wanted to go to Toyland with his Jewish fiend because he thought it was a place full of toys and they could have fun there. One day Marianne didn't find her son and she looked for him very nervously but she couldn't find him in his bedroom. She went to the street and asked the police for him and then she went running to the train station. There, she talked to the soldiers and then they went to a wagon. There she didn't find Heinrich but she found David and she saved him because if she didn't do it, the Jewish boy would have died in the concentration camp. Then she went back to her house with Heinrich's friend and the three of them lived together.

So touching and can't look away till the end

[b-13616 · 8/10 · 19 February 2019]

The moment I heard melancholy piano instrumental played on the background, I felt to be pulled by a film. From a German language actress speaks and her serious reaction to the missing son, I soon noticed it is a story about The Holocaust. At first, it is slightly difficult to follow the story, because it is told from two perspectives of German mother and David, her son, in two timelines. The first scene starts with David's mother going to find David, who is seemingly captured by SS. In the next scene of David and Heinrich playing the piano together, we finally understand why David is missing. One of the most impressive moments is the interaction between the mother and David. The mother cannot honestly tell David the cruel truth about entrainment of Jewish, and instead lies that they will go to "Toyland." Watching unsatisfied David and the conversation between David and Heinrich, Jewish friend of David, we come to see why David vanishes from his bed. On the latter part, I was really thrilled by the struggle to reach David by his mother. In every sequence such as finding the teddy bear, being suspected as Jewish by the police, and final arrival to the train where David is, the contents are considerably concentrated, and I couldn't avert my eyes.

Would the woman be able to find her son?

[asselinbeelzebuthjr · 9/10 · 18 July 2022]

Toyland is a short film set in Germany under holocaust. In the movie, a woman looks for her son. While she is looking for her son in every places, the scene changes to child's daily life including playing piano and looking for a place called 'Toyland'.

The title 'Toyland' and the setting of holocaust gives audiences many ideas, whether if it is a secret land only open to child and his friends, or a place where you can go to escape from the reality of persecution by Nazi force as Jews.

The setting may be disturbing for some people, but I would recommend this short film alongside other movies based on Nazi forces during world war II, such as 'The boy in striped pyjamas' and 'Life is beautiful'.

Sad but beautiful

[m28l17d · 7/10 · 28 February 2019]

This short film is about discrimination and the massacre of Jewish people. The main character is a young boy who is learning how to play the piano. There is his friend, and they are the best friend and learn how to play the piano together. One day, the boy's mother finds that her son is gone. She gets panic and asks people around her about her son. Around that time, the people who are caught by the government are only Jewish. She goes to police and being asked that she is also Jewish, but she proves she is not a Jewish. They go to the train that carries Jewish people. In the bunch of Jewish people, the mother finds a boy. She thinks that is her son, but the boy was the son's best friend. His parents are also there. They are a Jewish family and about to be sent to the Holocaust. The mother notices that he is not her son, but keeps pretending that is her son, and save the boy from going there. This movie gives a surprising ending, and I like it. It is about one of the biggest and the most shocking events in human history so that the ending may be too light. While the plot is well planned, so I like the film overall.

A miracle born of lies

[sknrk-47889 · 8/10 · 18 December 2023]

This is a short film set during World War 2 in Germany with racial themes surrounding two boys. One of them is Heinrich and the other is David, and he is Jewish. They are friends, and they often play the piano together. Heinrich's mother hopes this situation continues, but realistically it can't be continued because David is Jewish. Heinrich is told that David will go to Toyland, and he wants to go there with David. In reality, only David, is taken, and Heinrich is unable to go with him. However, thanks to some quick thinking by Heinrich's mother, David can escape capture. This story is gripping, and both tragic and heartwarming. I was especially moved by Heinrich's mother's actions. Also, the characteristic of this film is that the timeline is depicted in a disjointed manner, rather than simply arranging events in a straightforward manner. There is no dialogue in the last scene, but I think it's a highlight, so please watch until the end.

Toyland

[vxyytcsg · 7/10 · 6 January 2024]

Firstly, I suggest that the aggressive question of when Hienrich's mother wakes up in the morning and notices that Hienrich is disappearing is effectively presented. I consider it the first point that engages the audience. Additionally, as the second point to draw people in, there is the aspect of a shifted timeline. Portraying the present and the past, depicting it from the perspective of the child and the mother, adds a compelling dimension to the story. Films can fall into two patterns: one that complicates the theme and simplifies the technique for clarity, and another that is straightforward in conveying the theme but may use complicated techniques. I think this movie falls into the latter category. It explicitly addresses the persecution of Jewish people and criticism of it as the theme, while employing complex techniques such as shifting the timeline to convey it.

Nothing is so strong as mother's love

[rinopechi · 9/10 · 20 July 2022]

'Toyland' was made in 2007. This story is a German perspective on the events caused by the Holocaust of the Jews during World War II. I like this movie very much. There are two reasons. First, it depicts the purity of children and the dangers created by their purity. Heinrich's mother lies to him that David is going to Toyland. Then he believes in Toyland and wants to go there himself. There is a contradiction in the lies she tells for him that put him in danger. I was as nervous as his mother during the scene where he is not in bed in the morning. The second reason is that the scene where Heinrich's mother and David's mother have an eye-to-eye conversation is overwhelming. There is a sense of tension and I feel as if I am there. I also liked the irony in the fact that the Nazi soldiers could not tell Jews from the rest at all. There are so many fascinating aspects to this film that it is hard to believe it is only 14 minutes long. I think people should watch 'Toyland.'

Short film

[ktkt-80912 · 7/10 · 17 July 2022]

'Toyland' is a short film. The main characters are Heinrich, a German, and David, a German Jew, who are best friends. One day, however, David's family is taken away to a camp. Heinrich's mother, unable to tell him the truth, lies to him that they are going to 'Toyland.' . But her words have the opposite effect, and Heinrich wishes that he could go, too. The next day, he follows David out of his mother's sight. On the morning of David family's removal, Marianne is upset to find that Heinrich is not there. She thinks that Heinrich must have been taken away with the family. She runs to the train station and begs the soldiers to let her son go home. Many things happen after this. This film is 13 minutes long. A lot happens in that short time. And this film is about the Holocaust, the genocide of the Jews. So this film is very much worth seeing.

Good Story

[oushou-10394 · 9/10 · 19 July 2022]

Toyland is a short film from Germany. It won an Oscar for best Live Action Short Film in 2009. The setting is in Germany in 1942. Two boys practice the piano. Their names are Heinrich and David. David's mother wants him to continue to play the piano, but David's family are Jewish. Jewish are taken to somewhere. Heinrich's mother can't tell him such a thing, so she tells a lie. She says, "David goes to Toyland tomorrow". Heinrich wants to go Toyland with David. He doesn't understand the real meaning of "Toyland". However, his mother doesn't allow it, so he decides to escape from his house and go there with David. Next morning, Heinrich's mother finds that Heinrich isn't in the house. She is irritated. Can she find her son? What is "Toyland"? What is it really? Please check by yourselves. This film tells us about a civilian life in war. The contents are very sad, but the music defuses it. This film has many scenes changing, so it is difficult to understand watching only once. You should watch many times and understand the story. The final scene is a key to understanding the story. When you perfectly understand the story, you probably know the value of peace.

Toyland

[CinemaSerf · 7/10 · 22 March 2024]

Potently seen through the eyes of two young boys, the rise of Nazi-ism is depicted as "David" (Tamay Bulut Ozvatan), a Jew, and his family must make preparations for a trip whilst the mother of the other (Julia Jäger) must make preparations to lie to her son about just what is going on in their country now. They boys have no appreciation of the dangers and so armed with his bear "Little Paul" the two insist on travelling together. Can his mother track down "Heinrich" (Cedric Eich) before it's too late? It's chilling, this film - not just the effects of the snow on the ground but these ghastly yellow stars stitched like targets upon the clothing of the unwilling travellers. The boys think they are going to "Toyland".... Scary stuff well presented with an effective minimum of dialogue.

toyland

[0810gsis · 9/10 · 23 December 2021]

German Heinrich, whose Jewish teacher teaches the piano, and Jewish teacher's son, David are good friends. Heinrich's mother can't tell her son about the Jewish internment, so she says they will go to Toyland. One morning, Heinrich goes missing and his mother desperately looks for him. She thinks he has followed David's family. She calls his son's name on the train sent to a concentration camp. It is David, not Heinrich, who comes out.

She picks him up and goes home. His son didn't follow David's family.

The story ends with a scene where Heinrich and David are playing the piano. I was impressed by the facial expressions of the people on the freight train and the appearance that they didn't resist. I thought Heinrich's mother's actions were courageous. I was nervous when Heinrich's mother desperately searched for her son. I was surprised at the content because I could not imagine from the title Toyland.