«Ostwind - Der große Orkan» - Movie Review by Kinoafisha

The story of "Windstorm" is unique. The first film of the series, released in 2013, spawned a franchise that has stretched across five parts. Unlike other popular youth movie hits, it was not based on a bestselling novel. The plot was created from scratch and was one hundred percent original (well, as original as a story about a troubled teenager and his beloved animal can be). Ostwind, named after the eastern wind, was a black stallion with a complex temperament. No one could connect with him, except for the red-haired girl named Mika, who was sent on vacation to her strict grandmother, an Olympic champion and owner of a riding school, due to her academic struggles.

In modern times, only Germany could produce such a film, where children's and youth cinema is carefully supported and films not based on popular books are especially encouraged. The script of "Windstorm" was pleasantly uncomplicated and, at the same time, very precise, drawing a parallel between the girl and her favorite horse: the untamed animal became the perfect metaphor for teenage maximalism, demanding special sensitivity and endless patience from the adults.

The creators of the first "Windstorm," which received almost all existing awards in the category of "Best Children's Film" in the country, initially planned to stop at one film.

However, the story quickly gained fans (a fan club even appeared in Russia, where none of the previous parts were released in official distribution), novels based on the film were published, and a sequel became inevitable.

In the sequel, Mika saved her grandmother's stable from bankruptcy and, at the same time, found her first love. In the third part, she traveled to Spain to find Ostwind's alleged homeland. In the fourth installment, the inevitable happened. The lead actress Hannah Binke had grown so much that she could no longer remain the sole heroine of a film meant for a children and teenage audience. The creators of "Windstorm" introduced a new girl into the story - the rebellious Ari played by Luna Paiano. In the fifth part, she once again takes center stage.

In "Windstorm," Mika flies off to a volunteer camp in Canada, leaving Ostwind under Ari's care. Right after her departure, a van with circus performers crashes near the Kaltenbach estate. In the car are a father and son who perform horse acts. In the accident, their best stallion, named The Great Hurricane, nearly loses his life. After meeting Ari, the performers invite her to their show. The girl accepts the invitation and becomes a witness to a tragic accident: the elderly Hurricane can no longer perform at the same level. To give him some rest, Ari decides to temporarily replace him with Ostwind - thankfully, the stallions are so similar that even their owners cannot immediately tell them apart.

Credit is due to the creators of the franchise: for eight years of existence, "Windstorm" has remained in their hands. The fifth installment was written and directed by Lea Schmidbauer, who had worked on the screenplays for the previous films and the books they were based on. However, despite her efforts, "The Great Hurricane" couldn't avoid the chronic illness of any film series. The plot twists began to repeat, and the story became filled with more unrealistic inventions and conventions that the audience is simply expected to believe. Many characters lost their former vitality.

There are, of course, some obvious advantages. Schmidbauer tried to shift away from the idea of girls being chosen, which was emphasized in the earlier parts, to a fresher theme. "Windstorm: The Great Hurricane" is dedicated to brass instruments: Ari is about to face the temptation of fame, which, for her, a perpetual loner, will be particularly challenging. A special compliment goes to the charismatic villain of this part, circus owner Yiri Gregorin. The irony lies in the fact that he is portrayed by German actor Gedeon Burkhard, a star of another cult project about the friendship between humans and animals: Burkhard was the second owner of the smartest German Shepherd in the crime series "Commissar Rex."

During the final credits, viewers are shown the best moments from all parts of "Windstorm." Obviously, this should be seen as a farewell, and it's damn sad that the series has only now reached the big screens in Russia. One hopes that "Windstorm: The Great Hurricane" will serve as a reason for someone to watch the previous films for the first time. They are worth it. There is no doubt that devoted fans who have followed these beloved characters since the first film will come to bid them farewell. Let their consolation be that in modern cinema, any "goodbye" from a successful project often transforms into a promising "see you later."