Common Sense Media Review
Uneven underdog superhero tale has violence and language.
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Freaks - You're One of Us
What's the Story?
As a young girl, Wendy (Cornelia Groschel) caused some unusual trouble at school, angrily throwing a large desk through a building wall. She's the primary "freak" in FREAKS – YOU'RE ONE OF US, but she's long been unaware of her unusual abilities, because ever since that incident, her power and anger have been controlled by medication and "therapy." Now an adult, she's a fry cook at Chop Heaven with an abusive boss and a low salary, living with her husband and their young son, trying to pay the bills. One day, Marek (Wotan Wilke Mohring), a disheveled man, approaches her on the street and explains that she's "one of us," part of a group of people with secret superpowers being suppressed by authorities. The revelation changes her life. Her awkward young co-worker Elmar (Tim Oliver Schultz) is also on the meds, suppressing his power to generate electricity at will. While Marek wants to hide from the authorities and Wendy wants to assert her powers to help herself and others, Elmar is a disturbed, vengeful opportunist who runs around in a superhero costume. He doesn't hesitate to shock people, even lethally, if they get in his way. The violent damage he leaves in his path alerts the authorities and puts Marek and Wendy in danger. When the trio try to release other "freaks" still imprisoned by a conformist system, they cause more problems than they solve.
Is It Any Good?
This movie begins as if it's promising a comedy, but it takes a dark turn that leaves comedy and good sense behind. The uneven tone is both confusing and disappointing. Freaks – You're One of Us tries, using a metaphor of superpowers, to raise the issue of accepting difference and how society fails to deal with it well. The movie isn't explicit, but the metaphor suggests that society should show more tolerance and acceptance of all races, religions, nationalities, cultures, political views, and physical abilities. Freaks promotes the message that rising up against oppression is something all of us have the superpower to do. That takeaway keeps this from being a waste of time.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about when we view differences in other people as "good" and when we view them as "bad." Do you think that different points of view strengthen or weaken a free society? Why?
Why do you think the authorities in Freaks – You're One of Us want to lock up the "freaks" with special powers? Why are people so afraid of those who are different?
How might a free society harness special powers and abilities to improve the world?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming : September 2, 2020
- Cast : Cornelia Groschel , Tim Oliver Schultz , Wotan WIlke Mohring
- Director : Felix Binder
- Studio : Netflix
- Genre : Drama
- Run time : 92 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- Last updated : January 20, 2022
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