Eine andere Liga (3 Stars)

"Nach dem Spiel ist vor dem Spiel".

This German football quote from the 1950's, which has since risen to the level of a proverb, fascinates me. The literal English translation sounds ridiculous. The best way to express it in English is "There's always another game", or maybe "There's always tomorrow".

This is a depressing film. It made me cry a lot, and not in a good way. It begins with 20-year-old Hayat being diagnosed with breast cancer and having a breast removed. This is a horror that no man could fully comprehend, but the talented young actress Karoline Herfurth manages to express it with her actions, facial expressions and tears. After being released from hospital she joins a football team and falls in love with the trainer. She finds new hope -- nach dem Spiel ist vor dem Spiel -- but whatever happiness and success she experiences is made bitter by the knowledge that a new tragedy is waiting to happen.

At the end, during the credits, people are shown being interviewed and asked to explain what the offside rule in football is. The answers are mostly comical. Finally the interviewer says to the camera, "Everyone knows what offside is, but nobody can explain it. It's the same with love".

That's very true. But the film is still depressing.