When Will It Be Again Like It Never Was Before

When Will It Be Again Like It Never Was Before

Directed by Sonja Heiss

Produced by Komplizen Film, Warner Bros. Film Productions Germany

2023116 min5.6 / 10

A bittersweet coming-of-age story set in an unconventional 1980s household where a boy finds unexpected kinship with psychiatric patients while navigating family dysfunction and the painful disillusionment of growing up.

Growing up on the grounds of one of Germany's largest psychiatric hospitals is somehow - different. For Joachim, the director's youngest son, the patients are like family. They are also much nicer to him than his two older brothers, who drive him into fits of rage. His mother, painting watercolors, longs for Italian summer nights instead of constant German rain, while his father secretly, but not discreetly enough, goes his own way. But while Joachim slowly grows up, his world, not only through the loss of his first love, gets more and more cracks...

Questions people ask

  • Is When Will It Be Again Like It Never Was Before sad? Yes. More sad than 82% of films.

  • Is When Will It Be Again Like It Never Was Before violent? Not especially. Less violent than 74% of films.

  • Is When Will It Be Again Like It Never Was Before scary? Not especially. Less frightening than 65% of films.

  • Is When Will It Be Again Like It Never Was Before easy watching? Somewhat. More comforting than 62% of films.

  • Does When Will It Be Again Like It Never Was Before end with hope? About average. Almost exactly mid-range.

These describe how the film comes across, measured across the whole film and compared with other well-known films. They are not a content list — nothing here was counted or checked scene by scene, so for age-suitability or specific content use a classification board or a dedicated content-warning service.

15/ 100

Cinnamon Score

How much this film gives you that nothing else will, and whether it delivers.

Conventional, and it does not land.

Rarity43

How unlike any other film this one feels

Surprise4

How much more it delivers than it promises

Love10

How much audiences actually like it

The highest scores in the catalogue →

Ensemble

Like When Will It Be Again Like It Never Was Before

Nearest across the full emotional profile.

Same Mood as When Will It Be Again Like It Never Was Before

Nearest on what's most distinctive about this one.

Like When Will It Be Again Like It Never Was Before, But Darker

Similar, pushed toward heavier and more intense.

Like When Will It Be Again Like It Never Was Before, But Lighter

Similar, pushed toward warmer and easier.

Like When Will It Be Again Like It Never Was Before, But Less Popular

Same territory, far fewer people have seen it.

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