Directed by:
Burhan QurbaniCinematography:
Yoshi HeimrathComposer:
Dascha DauenhauerCast:
Welket Bungué, Martin Wuttke, Jella Haase, Albrecht Schuch, Nils Verkooijen, Lena Schmidtke, Joachim Król, Annabelle Mandeng, Mira Elisa Goeres (more)Plots(1)
Francis has survived his escape from West Africa. When he wakes up on a beach in the south of Europe, he is determined to live a regular, decent life from now on. But he winds up in present-day Berlin where a stateless person without a work permit is treated just as mercilessly as the labourer Franz Biberkopf in Döblin’s classic novel of German modernism. Francis initially resists an offer to deal drugs in Hasenheide park, but then comes under the influence of Reinhold, his neurotic, sex-addicted pal who takes him in. When Francis meets club owner Eva and, after several dramatic experiences, the escort girl Mieze, he feels he’s found something for the first time, something he’s never known before: a little bit of happiness – which is precisely what Reinhold begrudges him. Like the literary source material, this contemporary version of Berlin Alexanderplatz is also about society and outsiders, desire and travesty. Not unlike Fassbinder’s version, Qurbani’s epic is a gloomy journey through the “dark night of the soul” – not least on account of its authentic, atmospheric images of Francis’ city of exile: Berlin. (Berlinale)
(more)Videos (2)
Reviews (1)
I haven’t read the book that this was based on, nor do I intend to read it: this movie is simply great in itself. The impression I got from it was that I had just watched very a well-made movie with great acting, with a story that leaves you with a very unpleasant feeling of hopelessness. It depicts the reality of the lives of refugees in Berlin. How to fall down, hit rock bottom, only to struggle back up again; how to improve social status, how to be able and ambitious, but fail to see any results due to naivety and ego. What works great here is the camera, the music and chemistry between the actors. Toward the end, the movie unfortunately loses a little of its pace, but that’s probably due to the extended running time and I can’t help feeling that Francis’ daily bread is pretty familiar to me (and to thousands and thousands of those in similar shoes as him...
()
