Annaluise drives her motorbike past graffiti-covered walls; Anton sports skate-punk garb. Times sure have changed in this 1990s version of Erich Kästner's children's classic, but the story remains the same. Anton's single mother is sick, and Anton must support the family. That doesn't leave much time for his best friend Annaluise. But the rich girl - her father's a heart surgeon - is aware of Anton's problems and she is determined to earn money for her buddy, even if it means becoming a busking musician...

Director Caroline Link, an Oscar nominee last year for Beyond Silence, has updated Kästner's book for a contemporary youth audience. The film's fast and funny, but doesn't eschew more serious themes: "Even though 10-year-olds mostly like to watch films like Titanic," she says, "I still think they would enjoy stories dealing with their own world and worries." Young leads Elea Geissler and Max Felder portray these worries convincingly and with natural charm, effortlessly matching their adult counterparts Meret Becker, Juliane Köhler and August Zirner.