German Film Screenings at Goethe-Institut London

[Beate]

Sommer vorm Balkon (summer in Berlin)

Monday 7 May 2009

Review got lost on temp site!

7.5/10

Im Juli

http://www.fmuk.org.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=32&t=163

We arrived at the Goethe Institut at 8 minutes to 7 but still got our preferred seats at the back where the staircase is. The screening room is not very big and although it did not fill up completely, a lot of people did turn up until about quarter past, squeezing themselves into empty spaces. I must say it was nice not to have to bother about ID or even tickets for once but just be able to run into the cinema and find a seat!

Im Juli (In July) is a German film from 2000. It is part romantic comedy part road movie.
Daniel (Moritz Bleibtreu), a bookish student teacher from Hamburg, falls in love with a beautiful Turkish girl just as the summer vacations start and decides to follow her to Istanbul by car. He takes hitchhiker Juli (Christiane Paul) with him, a carefree girl who decides the destination of her summer holiday according to where the first person who stops for her is heading to. This scenario leads to a wild and crazy journey through south-eastern Europe, with pitfalls at every corner. They are travelling thousands of miles, crossing rivers, moving mountains and following the sun...

The film is refreshing, funny, warm and lovable, and more “real” than those predictable Hollywood rom-coms could ever be. Our two swear, dabble in drugs, get mugged and steal a car (after waiting for a car owner who "looks like a bad guy"). They get separated repeatedly and Daniel ends up in a car with a body in the boot, like his life hasn’t turned out crazy enough! The story is full of twists, with a beautiful ending, and the film is very entertaining and held my attention to the end. Moritz Bleibtreu is one of Germany’s most popular actors, and he has a kind of boyish charm that is hard to resist. Christiane Paul as Juli is equally perfect in her role. I might be biased by being German but I absolutely and utterly loved the film and was so glad we went to see it.

“Isn't this romantic? I never stole a car with anyone before.“

8.5/10

Kebab Connection

Monday 7 September 2009

Review got lost somewhere!

7/10

[Beate]

Nikolaikirche

Director: Frank Beyer, 133 min., 1995. German with English subtitles.

Based on the book of the same name by Erich Loest

Leipzig 1987: Small gestures of revolt against the state are becoming more and more apparent. The Monday prayers in the St. Nicholas Church are attended by an increasing number of people. The state reacts by trying to intimidate the people, expulsion from the party and other repressive measures. On 9 October 1989 the Leipzig citizens gain a decisive victory. The head of Leipzig state security declares : "We have reckoned with many things, but not with candles and prayers !"

I really have to make a habit of checking the websites before I go to these screenings. In the beginning it had said no booking required, so as usual we just turned up, only to be stopped and asked for tickets. Erm? They must have suddenly decided that "As this film is proving to be very popular due to its topical nature we ask you to book your place beforehand." Ouch. So I raced to the reception desk and was told, "sorry, fully booked". "But there are only 2 of us and we have come all that way..." "Alright," she said "let's hope they won't all come" and handed us two tickets! And she was right. It got very full but there were seats left over.

I liked the film but gosh, was it long! Not quite as good as other topical films, for example The Lives of Others, it was nevertheless an atmospheric study of that historical time, through the eyes of an increasingly divided family. The brother (Ulrich Matthes) is a member of the Stasi while the sister (Barbara Auer) rebels against the state and her daughter joins the demonstrations and eventually flees to the West. The late Ulrich Muehe was very good as the softly spoken but passionate Reverend Ohlbaum of the Nikolaichurch.

"Wir sind das Volk!"

7.5/10

[Beate]

Solino

In the sixties Romano Amato, his wife Rosa and their two sons Giancarlo and Gigi emigrate from Solino in Italy to Duisburg in the Ruhr area and establish the first Pizza restaurant in town. Their business emerges well and both children get used to Germany. 10 years later the brothers fall in love with the same woman; they break tie with each other in anger and Gigi returns to Solino with his mother. A decade later both meet again and have a retrospect on their lives.

Not a lot of people came to see this today at the Goethe-Insitut. To be fair, it isn't one of Moritz Bleibtreu's best films. For a start, he is hardly in it, and secondly, he plays a bit of an arsehole, who is jealous of his younger brother. Gigi is the one with talent, the kind one, the one the girls want, and he can't handle it, so he deliberately sabotages his brother's career and personal life. In the end though, who has had the better life?

It's a good portrayal of Italian immigrants to Germany, where the kids adapt and learn the language in an instant, whereas the parents never really learn the language nor feel at home. It was a bit long though, and concentrated too hard on Gigi's life, with an abrupt second fast forward of 10 years at the end. Still, very watchable, and the OH loved it, although it was almost entirely in Italian (and some German).

7/10

[Beate]

Berlin is in Germany

When Martin, a former GDR citizen, is released from jail, he lately becomes confronted with the consequences of the German re-unification.

I absolutely loved this one. A gentle film about a guy released from prison into a unified Germany he doesn't know. His wife is with a new guy and he has never seen his son. Now he has to start a new life but it's not that easy when you served 11 years in prison. Will he be given a second chance?

8/10

But my God, some people are annoying. There was a girl with a persistant, loud, hacking cough all the way through, some people playing with their mobile phones, and I kid you not, one guy in the last row tapping away on a laptop. A LAPTOP.

[Beate]

Vier Minuten

A most unusual story told with equally unusual conviction. Traude Krüger has been giving piano lessons in a women's prison for decades. She meets Jenny, a reserved young woman convicted of murder who was once considered a child musical prodigy. Her attempt to guide her pupil to victory in a music competition leads to a difficult, contradictory relationship between the two women which fascinates to the very last second.
Director: Chris Kraus, colour, 112 min., 2006

Seen this tonight in a full and captive audience. Outstanding performances and an interesting story made this a joy to watch - even the OH loved it. RIP Monica Bleibtreu!

7.5/10