Time of Maturity

Time of Maturity
GermanReifezeit
Directed bySohrab Shahid-Saless
Written bySohrab Shahid-Saless
Helga Houzer
Produced byO. E. Kress
StarringMike Henning
Eva Manhardt
CinematographyRamin Reza Molai
Edited byChristel Orthmann
Production
company
Provobis Film
Release date
Running time
108 minutes
CountryWest Germany
LanguageGerman

Time of Maturity (German: Reifezeit) is a German drama film, directed by Sohrab Shahid-Saless and released in 1976.[1] One of the first films Shahid-Saless directed after immigrating to Germany from his native Iran, the film centres on the coming of age of Michael (Mike Henning), a young boy who runs errands for his blind neighbour to save up for a bicycle; meanwhile, his single mother (Eva Manhardt) has tried to shield him from knowing that she works as a prostitute.[2]

The cast also includes Eva Lissa, Charles Hans Vogt, Heinz Lieven, Lothar Köster, Sabine Titze and Axel Brehmer in supporting roles.

The film is sometimes also known by the English title Coming of Age,[3] although Time of Maturity is the standard English title.[1]

It premiered in August 1976 at the Locarno Film Festival, where it received an honorable mention from the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury.

A restored version of the film was screened in 2024 at the 74th Berlin International Film Festival,[3] and later at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival.[4]

  1. ^ a b Azadeh Fatehrad, ReFocus: The Films of Sohrab Shahid-Saless. Edinburgh University Press, 2020. ISBN 9781474456418.
  2. ^ Kumars Salehi, "Not Another Exilic Movie: Alienation and the Everyday in Shahid Saless's Reifezeit and Tagebuch eines Liebenden". Transit, Vol. 12 No. 1 (2019). pp. 15-28.
  3. ^ a b "Restored version of Sohrab Shahid-Saless’ “Coming of Age” selected for Berlinale classics section". Tehran Times, 16 January 2024.
  4. ^ Etan Vlessing, "Toronto Film Fest Adds Wang Bing, Roberto Minervini, Miguel Gomes Films to Wavelengths". The Hollywood Reporter, 8 August 2024.