Young Goethe in Love

As long as it's not mistaken for a history lesson, Philipp Stölzl's film is an enjoyable period piece that revels in its goofy extravagance. The script takes Johann Wolfgang Goethe's early novel The Sorrows of Young Werther as autobiographical—except, of course, for the tragic denouement involving the hero's suicide—adding a heaping helping of bawdy humor to the opening scenes while reserving the book's floridly romantic tone for the later ones. The plot follows young Goethe (Alexander Fehling)—a law student addicted to writing plays and poetry—in his first post as a clerk at a minor provincial court, where he falls in love with Lotte Buff (Miriam Stein). Unfortunately, Lotte's father arranges for her to marry Goethe's employer, Albert Kestner (Moritz Bleibtreu). In a nod to Cyrano, the tongue-tied boss asks his eloquent underling for help in writing his proposal to Lotte, and Goethe happily complies without knowing the intended recipient…initially. Echoes of Tony Richardson's classic Tom Jones can be found throughout the engaging Young Goethe in Love, which features lovely cinematography and a fine score based on Schubert melodies. Recommended. (F. Swietek)