Toyland

"1942: what happens when a German kid believes that his Jewish neighbors are going to Toyland?"

2007 0h 13m DE

👍

7.2

SOLID

★7.2TMDB · 75

DramaWar

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

On a winter morning, a mother goes to waken her son Heinrich; his bed is empty. She leaves her flat to find him. The neighbors' door, with a Star of David painted on it, is ajar, the furnishings in disarray, the family gone. She asks passersby, runs to the police then on to the rail yard. Flashbacks show that Heinrich and the neighbors' son Paul are six years old and best friends. Paul's family's deportation is expected soon; Heinrich's mother tells her son that they're going to Toyland. Heinrich wants to go with them, has a bag packed, and listens for their departure. His mother realizes he's joined them, and her resolve becomes more urgent. Will she arrive in time to save Heinrich?

“1942: what happens when a German kid believes that his Jewish neighbors are going to Toyland?”

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Cast

Julia Jäger
Marianne
Cedric Eich
Heinrich
David C. Bunners
Obersturmführer
Torsten Michaelis
Herr Silbertein
Claudia Hübschmann
Frau Silberstein
Gregor Weber
SS-Mann Werner
Jürgen Trott
Schutzpolizist
Klaus-Jürgen Steinmann
Blockwart

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Jochen Alexander Freydank
Writers: Jochen Alexander Freydank, Johann A. Bunners
Languages: German
Countries: Germany

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Tight 13-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 19 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Anna Kappelmann shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Julia Jäger and Cedric Eich and David C. Bunners carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "1942: what happens when a German kid believes that his Jewish neighbors are going to Toyland?".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt1280548 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

Only 75 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Jochen Alexander Freydank directs. Anna Kappelmann cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in Germany. Dialogue in German.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Tight 13-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.
2Released 19 years ago.
3Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
4Editor Anna Kappelmann shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Julia Jäger and Cedric Eich and David C. Bunners carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "1942: what happens when a German kid believes that his Jewish neighbors are going to Toyland?".
7IMDB entry: tt1280548 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Only 75 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
9Classified under 9 themes, including "winter", "flashback", "little boy", "antisemitism".

The technical file

Editing: Anna Kappelmann
Runtime: 13 min · 0h 13m
Status: Released
Original language: DE
IMDB: Toyland (2007)

Awards

Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Jochen Alexander Freydank

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2024-03-22
★ 7/10
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.

Production companies