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Reviews
10 Milliarden (2015)
How to feed 10 billion people
Valentin Thurn is the guy who made "Taste the Waste" - a film about the question why so much food is thrown away on a daily basis. That film made a big splash, and some initiatives have been started in order to fight the waste.
In this new film he wants to examine how we can feed 10 billion people: by GM food or by organic farming. He visits industrial-farming sites as well as small farms or co-operatives all over the world. Whether in Britain, the US or Africa, everywhere we can see some hopeful signs that farming on a small scale and in a sustainable way is well possible and able to feed a growing world population.
For lovers of genetic engineering, big companies like Monsanto or died-in-the-wool capitalists this will be an unpalatable fact. If you already shop in your little organic supermarket next door and maybe even eat just vegetarian or vegan food, you will like this film and agree with Valentin Thurn's line of argumentation. For all of us, the film provides ample food for thought.
Heiter bis wolkig (2012)
How to hit on a woman; how to die
This film starts as a shallow love story: two blokes in a bar hit on the woman they fancy by sending one of them over who tells her that the other one is terminally ill. "Would you like a brain tumour or prostate cancer? - OK, OK, I know, so it's a brain tumour." Surprisingly women seem to believe this shtick and want to help the alleged coffin-dodger to a beautiful last night.
Using this trick, Tim, a canteen cook, gets to know Marie - and this time it isn't a one-night stand, but develops into something more serious. The snag is that Marie has a sister, Edda, who really suffers from cancer and only has a few months to live. She, of course, can see through the subterfuge right from the start and asks Tim to help her grant some last wishes.
Now this film gets more serious, Edda doesn't want to live, she doesn't want to die - she is full of joy and very cranky, just the typical mood swings of someone who has to die.
Occasionally some of what she wants reminds a bit of "Knocking on Heaven's Door", the film about two cancer patients who want to go to the sea before they die and have a few adventurous last days. That film is rather a comedy, while "Heiter bis wolkig" is often a bit sadder. It raises a laugh, and it is tear-jerking, especially for people who have seen someone die of cancer. But don't worry, It isn't a depressing film, it's also a kind of fairy tale. Live your own life, try to make your dreams come true - that is the theme of "Heiter bis wolkig".
Max Riemelt as Tim, Jessica Schwartz as Edda and Anna Fischer as Marie are excellent, giving their characters some depth and making you feel with them.
The title isn't misleading; this film is partly cloudy: sometimes a bit sunnier, sometimes it can rain a bit.
Taste the Waste (2010)
50% of all food produced is dumped
This documentary starts with two dumpster divers in Vienna who retrieve food from a supermarket's dustbin. Later on there are interviews with an organic farmer, supermarket employees, a baker etc to show how much food is thrown away worldwide.
This is partly due to EU guidelines (apples must have a minimum size; potatoes must not be too big or too small), partly due to customers' tastes (who still buys one-day-old bread?).
It is quite sickening to see how food that is still good for consumption is thrown away and to see the reasons for it. Let's hope this film is watched by many people who start questioning their own habits - do you only buy flawless fruit? Do you buy more food than you can eat? Do you still drink milk that is beyond its "best before" date?
Joschka und Herr Fischer (2011)
It's not Joschka and Herr Fischer but Joschka Fischer on post-war history
If you expect to learn something new about Joschka Fischer, you should not watch this film. In this documentary he hardly talks about private stuff but rather about post-war events and - a bit - about their impact on him.
The entire documentary shows Joschka Fischer in a video installation where he sees scenes of his own live and it streams the scenes themselves. We learn that he grew up in an environment where people voted for the Christian Democratic Union and that he was an altar boy. The film moves on to his early political live, eg the killing of Benno Ohnesorg by the police, the terror by the Red Army Faction and how he finally became minister.
Here the film does get a little personal: Fischer describes why he had to wear sneakers and a naff jacket even though he did not like them and how awful it was for him to head a huge administration where he has to learn who is responsible for what.
Later on, when he was Foreign Minister, he was responsible for sending German soldiers to former Yugoslavia - without a UN mandate. He tries to explain why he did so but seems rather wishy-washy. After all, he is a "realo", while the fundamentalist Greens nowadays have left Germany's parliament(s).
If you want to learn more about him, his motives etc, you should probably read "Mein langer Lauf zu mir selbst" - which I haven't - but if you want to know more about Germany's history after the Second World War, you will get concise information in just 140 minutes. As I am not that much interested in some politician's private live, I liked this film.
Der letzte schöne Herbsttag (2010)
When Leo met Claire
Did you like When Harry Met Sally? Then this is a must-watch for you. Leo meets Claire in a bike shop where he wants to have his flat tyre fixed, and Claire does it for him because she is able to fix lamps, bikes, water taps etc – highly unusual that a girl does it and not the man.
Throughout the film both Claire and Leo talk about how they met and about situations they went through, and both, of course, have a different point of view – they even bitch about the other one's quirks which makes the film very amusing to watch. "Yeah, I met him at a bike shop – he wanted to have his flat tyre repaired. Can you imagine a man who can't fix his bike? He just made a macho comment, but I fixed the tyre and he invited me for dinner. But he can't cook well either."
You can also see the scenes they talk about so that you can make up your own mind – or Claire talks to her best friend about Leo, while Leo talks to his best friend about Claire. A lot of what they say will be very familiar to you, because they talk about the misunderstandings between the sexes we have all experienced. This is why this film is so funny. Disclaimer: If you watch this film with your boyfriend/girlfriend, just make sure you laugh about the same things your partner considers hilarious or you will be in for a nasty argument.
As Leo and Claire are so different and do not seem to understand each other, you think they will end their relationship soon. But can they live without each other? Don't we love the person we love, warts and all, precisely because of his or her foibles? Go and watch this film and find out!
Renn, wenn du kannst (2010)
Run - or use a wheelchair
A film about two men and a girl does not sound remotely interesting, but this one is as one of the men sits in a wheelchair.
For about two years Ben, the guy in the wheelchair, has watched Annika, a music student who cycles to her school. One day he happens to watch an accident: Annika ignores a red traffic light and runs over a man, Christian, who turns out to be Ben's new help.
Ben is quite a pushy person and not easy to like but Christian manages to get along with him well. Then Annika turns up, and they all end up sitting on Ben's balcony watching the wintery city and sky and wish this moment would last forever.
Both Christian and Annika ask Ben what happened to him, ie, what made him end up in a wheelchair, and he tells quite a few stories about it, but they will find out later what really happened.
Annika at first seems in love with Chritian, then with Ben, and you can see how troubling it is for all of them because they really like each other. Nevertheless, the two men get into a fight and Ben gains the upper hand; he manages to watch Annika's concert in which she can play a solo as her roommate has hurt her hand (long story, funnily told in the film - watch out for the Mozart/Beethoven/Goethe or whoever bust!).
Anna Brüggemann, who plays Annika, has written the script, and she and her brother, the director of a film, have a sister who sits in a wheelchair so they really now about the difficulties handicapped people face.
Even though Ben seems both physically and psychologically damaged, there are also some jokes and very funny dialogues. If you want to watch a film which leaves your brain switched on and makes you laugh and think at the same time, you should watch this one.
Die Frau mit den 5 Elefanten (2009)
A genuine thriller
Thumbs up for 87-year-old Swetlana Geier - an astonishing woman with a hard life who never gave up.
This documentary shows Swetlana Geier, born in Ukraine in 1923, who very early started to learn German because her mother said this would be her "dowry". Her father was sent to prison by Stalin's police and came home after 18 months, health and spirit broken by torture; he died a mere six months after his release.
When the German troops arrived they were hailed as rescuers from Stalin - no-one had taken the news about concentration camps seriously. Unfortunately the Nazi soldiers rounded up most of Kiev's Jews and shot them at Babicar.
Swetlana gets a job as a translator with a German soldier, and her mother works as a maid. Because of Swetlana's exceptional intelligence and language skills she is protected by the Germans and even manages to get a German "foreigner's passport" and is allowed to move to Freiburg and study there.
She has worked as a translator and university teacher ever since, and even though she is now old and has a hunch, she still works every day, reading Dostoyevski's books and translating them. She calls them "the five elephants" because they are so heavy - difficult to understand, because you always see something new, which is a hallmark of excellent literature; and difficult to lift because the books are so big.
Throughout the film she talks about literature and translation, and this might sound very dull, but it is very exciting, thrilling and touching. She compares sewing and lace-making and other household chores to writing and translating.
With her granddaughter she returns to Kiev to visit the places where she once lived and tells the story of her life.
Her mind is still very young, and you can see her working with Ms Hagen, a friend who types her translations, and Mr Klodt who proof-reads everything and argues about every word. This shows how difficult the translation process is if you really want to show the complexity of the original text - it is not something everyone can do (even though a lot of people say so). She has re-translated "Crime and Punishment" giving it a new title, "Verbrechen und Strafe" (crime and punishment) instead of "Schuld und Sühne" - guilt and atonement, thus moving the stress from the moral to the technical level.
Even after her son has died after a work accident she does not lose her sense of humour and irony or working spirit - she will probably continue translating and enjoying literature until she drops dead. Let's hope she will still be alive and kicking for a very long time.
Vincent will Meer (2010)
Wanderlust
Vincent, a young man who suffers from Tourette's syndrome, has just lost his mother. His father, a successful politician, does not want to take care of him and therefore places him into a mental institution. He is put into a room with Alexander, a guy with a compulsive disorder, and is shown around by Marie, an anorectic girl.
This could be the start of a depressing film with problem-ridden antiheroes, and indeed the three protagonists suffer because of their mental illnesses. Vincent once says to Marie: "I've got a clown in my head who craps between the synapses; you just have to eat something and everything will be fine." However, a very funny road movie starts when Marie manages to steal the key of the tattered car belonging to Dr Rose, the director of the institution, and they drive away, heading to Italy. Of course, Vincent's dad and the director want to bring them back and follow them in Vincent's father's posh car, a shiny black BMW with a lot of oomph.
You can see the two young men struggling with their illnesses, and Alexander even seems to be able to forget about his anxieties. Vincent explains that he can feel his tics coming, but he cannot prevent them. "Can you decide not to sneeze?" When under pressure, he is in the grip of his tics and shouts obscenities. The three young people become friends, and when Vincent's father and the director find them rather soon, they sneak into the BMW and continue their trip.
All along they get into funny situations because they cannot pay at the petrol station or because Vincent flips out, or when you see how Dr Rose and Vincent's father, as different as they can be, have to put their heads together – and that just makes you laugh, but the film is also thought-provoking when Vincent, Alex and Marie talk about their problems, and touching when Vincent's dad tells Dr Rose about Vincent's childhood.
If you expect a sugar-coated happy ending with Marie and Vincent or Dr Rose and Vincent's dad falling in love, all cheerful and without mental problems, merrily reunited, you will be disappointed. However, Vincent's father has not only geographically travelled to find his lost son: he indeed comes mentally closer to him and no longer considers him to be a loser.
If you want to see a film that makes you laugh without your having to stop thinking, go and watch it. It is definitely entertaining and gives you food for thought at the same time.
Schwerkraft (2009)
"Who is the greater criminal: he who robs a bank or he who founds one?"
Mack the Knife asks in Brecht's Threepenny Opera, "Who is the greater criminal: he who robs a bank or he who founds one?" After the credit crunch and the ensuing economic crisis, we will definitely say, "It's the banker w****s, that's for sure." But are bankers happy? In this German film we see Frederik Feinermann, a banker in a rather small bank in Leipzig who has been rather successful in his job so far. Then, however, one of his clients who cannot pay back his loan shoots himself in front of Frederik. Just a few days later he bumps into Vince Holland, a former classmate of his, who now works in a hypermarket. When he learns that Vince was in prison, he is a bit shocked, but later Vince's criminal prowess proves rather useful for him.
At first Frederik breaks into his boss's house and needs Vince's help to finish what he has started, and then he thinks that they should also steal from his wealthy clients because he knows everything about their finances and also when they are on holiday.
So who is the greater criminal: the boss who does not understand that Frederik has suffered a trauma, or Frederik and Vince who start or resume a criminal career? This film raises several other questions as well: What matters in life? Is it more important to have a good job and a successful career, or should you spend more time with your friends and, if you have one, your partner? What makes you happy? This German "cityboy" does not start writing a column in "thelondonpaper", but he gradually turns into a rebel, trying to re-arrange his life and make up with his ex-girlfriend. It is, however, difficult to say whether this change makes him happy or whether he has simply lost his plot.
If you like films that are satirical and realistic at the same time (eg, Die fetten Jahre sind vorbei), this one is a must-see for you. It leaves a lot of questions open for discussion, so go and watch it with a friend and chat about it later in the evening.
Die Friseuse (2010)
Fat-bottomed girls you make the rocking world go round
Kathi is an unemployed hairdresser in Berlin. She is divorced and tries to scratch a living for herself and her daughter.
In a hypermarket she applies for a job as a hairdresser but she is told that they need someone "aesthetic", that is, no-one with a fat bottom or a flabby belly. This sets a whole series of events in motion when she tries to open her own shop, because that requires a business plan, venture capital etc.
This, of course, is not easy to obtain; however, setbacks do not prevent Kathi from trying and trying again. Attempting to make some money, she gets involved in smuggling Vietnamese people from Poland into Germany and has to host them in her little flat. And things go from bad to worse.
Nevertheless, she always fights her way back with optimism and charm. Even though this film shows life as difficult as it can be, the optimism this story exudes is contagious.
Definitely a feel-good movie for a rainy evening and a kick in the butt for anyone on the dole who does not even try to find work anymore.
Die Anwälte - Eine deutsche Geschichte (2009)
Lawyers and German history
Germany does not have a tradition of jokes about lawyers. Any Brit or American will definitely come up with three or four jokes like
- My father is a lawyer. - Honest? - No, the regular kind.
But Germans, after all, do not have a sense of humour - or do they? Watching this film, you might definitely think they do.
This film is a documentary about three lawyers, Horst Mahler, Otto Schily and Hans-Christian Stroebele, who were active in the "APO" movement (an opposition movement outside Germany's parliament) and who used to defend RAF terrorists like Gudrun Ensslin, Ulrike Meinhof and Andreas Baader later on.
You see old film material and even a few scenes from old "Tagesschau" news about demonstrations against the Vietnam War, and how the student Benno Ohnesorg is killed during a demonstration against the Shah's visit. This all influences the three lawyers and turns them against the state with its brutal police force. But hey, this was the 1960s and 1970s.
Later on, Mahler and Schily get more and more mainstream, and it is quite spooky to see Schily making speeches in parliament (and occasionally sounding a bit like Hitler) and turning more and more right-wing. So he quits the Green Party and joins the Social Democratic Party and becomes a law-and-order man when he is Minister of the Interior. Mahler's development is even eerier, because he, formerly a member of the RAF, turns into a fully-fledged (neo-) Nazi who denies the Holocaust and is therefore sent to prison.
The only lawyer who has not turned into a joke of his former self is Stroebele, who sticks to his left-wing pacifist ideals. This is probably why he is the only Green politician who is directly elected to Germany's parliament and does not get his seat because of the Green Party's percentage in the elections.
I very much liked this film because it gives you a good idea of the late 1960s and 1970s in Germany - a time I am highly interested in. I can still well remember the RAF times, seeing the "Wanted" posters in every German post office, and I was in Heidelberg when the RAF tried to kill US Army General FJ Kroesen.
For everyone interested in Germany's post-war history, this is a must-see. I'm a brainy girl, not a brawny man, and so I found this film much more thrilling than any action film on offer.
Seelenvögel (2009)
Soul birds going straight into your soul
This is a documentary on three children suffering from leukemia. One is Pauline, a 15-year-old girl, Lenni, a six-year-old boy and yet another boy called Richard, 10 years old, who all live in or near Munich.
You see them at hospital and at home, how their families try to make their lives comfortable, and they all wonder whether it is sometimes desirable to try a new therapy which might or might not prolong your life but will definitely increase your suffering. They all appear to be wise and much more mature than normal teenagers, and they all have put some thought into death and dying, even little Lenni who suffers from Down Syndrome and cannot really speak.
As this is not a feel-good Hollywood movie but a real-life story, you can be sure that not all of them will be alive and kicking at the end of the film. So make sure you have some handkerchiefs with you (crying with other people in the audience can have a cathartic effect) and enjoy this film which, despite its subject, it is not depressing at all.
Kirschblüten - Hanami (2008)
Touching
As the reviews I had read before watching the film were rather mixed, I did not expect too much, but I was really touched by the story.
Trudi learns that her husband is fatally ill and may die soon. Therefore she convinces him to visit their children in Berlin, who, of course, are rather underwhelmed by this parental invasion. The parents move on to spend a few days at the Baltic Sea where - out of the blue - Trudi dies. Her husband Rudi realizes that he did not really know his wife or take her dreams and interests seriously.
As Trudi was very much interested in Butoh dance, Rudi decides to go to Japan and see their other son who lives there. He gets to know a young Butoh dancer who has lost her mother, and both decide to go to Mount Fuji together.
A film about dying and blaming yourself for being unkind to someone who has just died might sound depressing, and you can shed some tears while watching this film. Yet it is not a tearjerker, and it has very funny scenes too. The director of photography deserves an award for his artwork, and the duck hurrying around in a very important way is a running gag that just makes you laugh.
Definitely the most touching film I have seen in the past few months. Go and watch it - it's a must-see.
Wir werden uns wiederseh'n (2006)
Poetic, tragic and funny
Watching old people in a nursing home is not what people normally consider good fun. When the film starts, you see very old, fragile people, and at the same time you can hear the song "Wir werden uns wiedersehen" (We will meet again).
But of course this film is not just about old people, but also about the younger or middle-aged person who care for them in the nursing home.
Holger, a nurse from Berlin, comes to Mannheim in order to kick-start his life anew. Yet he is still the same person and makes the same mistakes as before: he dates a colleague, then his boss, and an ex-girlfriend from Berlin keeps haunting him.
His boss has an affair with a married man and thus experiences all the difficulties one might expect.
The nicest bits and pieces of this film, however, are the scenes with old Mrs Kramer who can see ghosts ("Ghosts - but they are neatly dressed, and one looks really good, and they sing.") or a water ballet when she is in the swimming pool. She is very kind to the fellow inhabitants of the nursing home as well as to the nurses. And when she talks about her life in a very matter-of-fact way, that just makes you smile! Yes, these are ordinary people; they all have problems and experience pain - but still this film makes you feel good.
If you liked "Wenn der Richtige kommt" or "Die Herbstzeitlosen", you will also love this film. People from Mannheim will be happy because this film shows their hometown in a rather nice way. Go and watch it, you will laugh and cry and enjoy it!
Mondscheinkinder (2006)
Touching and entertaining
Mondscheinkinder is a very touching movie. It is considered to be a children's movie, but you definitely should not allow your child/children to watch it alone, but accompany them and talk with them about it.
The story goes straight to your heart. Paul, a little boy, suffers from a sun allergy. He immediately gets melanoma when exposed to UV radiation. His elder sister Lisa explains to him that he is an astronaut from another planet and thus cannot cope with the atmosphere on Earth.
Even though Lisa is often made fun of by her classmates, she loves her brother and tries to make life bearable for him. Then she falls in love with a boy from her school, Simon. Simon is at first jealous of Paul and vice versa. When Lisa tells Simon, however, what is wrong with Paul, he joins her in her stories about Paul being in astronaut. After all, Simon himself wants to be an astronaut! I found it extremely sad to see how the two of them try to make Paul happy.
Mondscheinkinder is definitely a film worth seeing. There are hardly any films about cancer and dying and how to cope with this situation. I can think of another German movie with a similar topic, Grüne Wüste. We all do not want to think about illness and death, yet they are part of our lives. Mondscheinkinder, however, is not depressing at all, it is rather entertaining and even full of hope. Go and watch it, think about your own life, and don't forget a huge handkerchief.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
Touching movie
This is one of the most touching movies I have ever seen. Jim Carrey acts at his best. Whoever reads this, go and watch this movie, and then start thinking why we all need memories - they make us the persons we are!
At first it seems like a typical boy-meets-girl story. A man and a woman falling in love. But then it turns out they had been knowing each other, they had separated and wanted to forget bad memories.
When, however, Joel's memories are to be deleted, he realizes that he does not want to lose them. He tries to escape, as if you try to wake up during a nightmare when you feel you are dreaming.
The story moves back and forward as in a dream, it does not seem to be logical, but it is. Kaufmann makes the implausible seem plausible!