Sachertorte

Who would have thought, that after all these years it is still possible to still create such a witty, heartbreaking and yet total believable romance? At the same time the movie manages to create a Real feel of how it is to live in Vienna and/or visit Vienna and enjoy its famous places. For example: Whoever had the chance to have a Sachertorte and coffee in the hotel Sacher will concede, that the movie has captured it all. The setting is marvelous, the characters are totally believable and, you will feel a heart warming glow and perhaps relive the memory of how it is or how it was to be in love. Highly recommended, take the chance and enjoy.

This story had elements of Cinema Paradiso mixed with Moonstruck, two of my favorite films, and it had me smiling, laughing and engaged from the start. A beautiful story with great performances from, not only the leads, but the entire supporting cast. There were so many interesting characters, from the staff at the Hotel Sacher in Vienna, to the quirky roommates, but the two leads, Max Hubacher and Maeve Metelka, were just outstanding. The ending was a little predictable pretty early on but the ride getting there was pure cinematic joy. I love finding these treasures like Sachertorte in the day and age of comic book mayhem on every screen.

For some films, you sometimes need a better knowledge of cultural or linguistic idiosyncrasies. This film is such an example, because when a Berliner comes to Vienna, a certain culture clash is pre-programmed. One reason for this is that Austrians don't really like Germans, actually they don't like Austrians either, only Viennese, but they don't like to admit that. So it's a bit like Parisians. Or New Yorkers. Anyway, Karl fell in love with the Austrian tourist Nini in Berlin, but no longer has her phone number. So he goes to Vienna, sits at the famous Café Sacher every day, eats cake and hopes that Nini will show up there at some point to celebrate her birthday. Meanwhile, he gets to know Miriam and it gradually dawns on him that there is more to it than a casual friendship. "Sachertorte" does a lot of things right, maintaining its easy-going narrative tone and having supporting characters that are almost more interesting. First and foremost is Fanny Swallisch, a resident at the Sacher who is a typical Viennese lady but whom you quickly come to love and whose lightning-quick humor works brilliantly for me. The somewhat awkward Mr. Schwartz fits in just as well as the rest of the staff at the Sacher, who become more and more involved in Karl's fate. Ultimately, this is a RomCom, so all goes well. And please don't expect more than a pretty film that doesn't hurt, but isn't a highlight of the year either.

More than twenty years ago Fatih Akin created one of the best Rom-Com Road-Movie combination ever made: "Im Juli". A young man meets the love of his life, only to loose her a few hours later. So, he follows her through a plethora of perils but with the help of a girl he accidentally meets, discovers the true meaning of love. "Sachertorte" is merely the same movie, however instead of being shot at, nearly drowning or ending up in jail, the protagonist here has to endure the hospitality of the couches in Café Sacher for a hundred something days.

So, this one is neither an homage to its spiritual influence nor its namesake cake the "Sachertorte". While the cake excels by not being to sweet, the movie reeks of artificial sweetener.

All in all, its watchable, but go see "Im Juli" instead to see what really could be baked out of these ingredients.

Sachertorte is a unique diamond of a romantic film with Vienna as a beautiful backdrop. I found the performance of the main actors very charming. I've watched the film several times and I always shed tears at the ending because it reminds me of the exact circumstances in which my wife and I met. Just when I thought "sachertorte" was the best dessert there was, friendship and time made me realize that I was an "apple strudel" kind of guy. I say this both figuratively and literally, because apple strudel is my favorite dessert! Now after 25 years of blissful marriage and two beautiful children, our love continues to grow every day.