Sophie Scholl Die Letzten Tage

Now it's summer, and exams are over, I should be able to watch a lot more films and write more on this blog. 

A while ago, I watched Sophie Scholl The Final Days, which tells the story (last 6 days) of the real life Scholl siblings who lived in Munich during WW2 and were part of the underground white rose student resistance group and were involved in publishing and spreading leaflets about the Nazi atrocities which were taking place at the time. 

Julia Jentsch played the part of "Sophie" really convincingly and it was possible to see how, when and why decisions were made, which is all credit to the actress who played her.

The film, of course, deals with very difficult subjects, the show-trial, the tearing up of the truth, basic freedoms etc. and the film handles this very well, so credit to the director, Marc Rothemund. There is even time for some humour and two particular bits stick very much in mind. The heart of the film involves a number of interrogations of Sophie by a Gestapo police detective, played by Robert Mohr. The detective is a committed Nazi and demonstrates his competency in taking apart Sophie's alibis. But we also see in him a grudging respect for this 21-year-old who has more courage than he knows he ever will. He even gives her a chance to escape the gallows, but she refuses, saying, "I won't betray my friends in order to save my own skin." We are also lead perhaps to the possibility that some of the things that Sophie was saying to him may have actually gone in and that it was he, who arranged the final meeting of the condemned. Which is a touching part. We see the rigid determination on Sophie's face throughout the interrogations and subsequent show trial, we also see the normal fear that anyone would have in that circumstance. 

The tone of the movie is very understated and low-key and the story's natural drama is allowed to shine out (I guess because it's almost a documentary), making the emotional punch of the movie that much more effective. Sophie's sheer courage, knowing fully well what her final verdict will be (the trial is definitely a farce!) and her firm and unbreakable beliefs, are truly inspirational, and these siblings will always be remembered. It's definitely a film to watch, and a good way of learning about the past. 

The Nasty Girl

Sorry for not posting anything in a while....I don't really have an excuse, oops.
Anyway, about a week ago, I watched 'The Nasty Girl' by Michael Verhoeven, which I borrowed from the school library.


The story follows beloved Sonja Rosenberger, played by Lena Stolze, but is based on a true story about a woman named Anna Rosmus. As a young girl, from a town in Bavaria, Sonja enters an essay competition for all of West Germany, and then when she wins this, she enters another, this time researching her town during the third reich and its resistance to it, which in fact turns out not to be true. She researches, but is met by resistance from the town, and is targeted, in order to have her silenced.  It's only those very close to her who support her work and urge her on....

Through a unique style, Verhoeven takes a sensitive topic, the feelings of Germans as to their participation in WWII, and makes it into a strangely good film. Lena Stolze is glorious as Sonja, retaining her youthful charm and appeal throughout the film, from infancy to adulthood and she accidentally drifts into the role of advocate for the truth at any price. Her apparent youthful innocence is what gives the movie much of its staying power in the minds of its viewers. One really cool/unusual scene is how the walls are taken down of Sonja's living room and it floats through town while people anonymously call and threaten her family.

This movie is comedy, tragedy, documentary, and social commentary rolled into one glorious package and at the beginning I didn't know what to think, and thought the film would be very bad, but I was definitely proved wrong. On another note, this film is also a very good portrayal about a modern woman's struggle to be independent in her work while having a large family, as shown by Sonja's research and balancing her university studies with a very young family. I definitely recommend this film. 

Der Ganz Grosse Traum

I feel like I haven't written anything in a while.. oops ! But anyway, last night I watched Der Ganz Grosse Traum (Lessons of a Dream) by Sebastian Grobler.

The film is based on a real story, and is set in the late 19th century (1874), in a town called Braunschweig, in the then Prussian empire. A native german, english teacher Konrad Koch, played by Daniel Bruehl (from the Edukators) comes to the local school following a degree at Oxford as a 'pioneer', as the Headmaster Gustav Merfeld played by Burghart Klaussner (yep he's also in The Edukators) says, as English hadn't been taught there previously and everything that the boys know about England is common prejudices handed down from one generation to the next. The kids don't seem very interested in learning English, until he introduces them and in turn, the rest of Germany, to football, a sport played by the 'barbaric' English, and is later described as being 'undeutsch'. 

Unfortunately, Koch’s unconventional ways soon make him many enemies: influential parents, local dignitaries and, above all, his colleagues, who only believe in Prussian drills and discipline. Mr Koch receives a letter from a friend from England, who is also a teacher. He happens to be taking his students on a trip to Germany and the english students want to play football against the german boys, but of course, much of the town is against this and Koch has to prove them wrong, and make his dream a reality....

Daniel Bruehl is of course brilliant as always, and his english complete with accent is actually very good ! The conflicts between the teacher and his students, his colleagues, and between parents and children, Grobler captures well. All the resistance to modern educational methods remind me very much of another world-renowned school movie, Dead Poets Society.  I really liked the soundtrack and beautiful location ! But to be honest, I didn't find the film amazing..Das Wunder von Bern was much more impressive and emotional as a football related film !

I would say however, that it could be seen to be a bit cheesy.. a teacher taming a wild class.. but it tells the origins of football in Germany which is naturally quite important ! Fascinatingly,  the 'barbaric' sport was banned in Bayern until 1927... who'd have thought?! 

Also, the dvd I have doesn't have English subtitles which was a bit annoying as my German isn't really that good, so I couldn't understand absolutely everything... Ah well.

2 Films from Werner Herzog

A while ago, I went to see 2 films one after another, Aguirre, The Wrath of God (Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes), and The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser (Jeder fuer sich und Gott gegen alle) both by legendary director/producer/you name it, Werner Herzog. In my opinion, Herzog could easily be the best german film director/producer/etc of all time ! 

The first film I watched was Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes, with Klaus Kinski playing the main character, Don Lope de Aguirre. Interestingly, Herzog filmed using one, stolen camera on location in the Peruvian rainforest, and so it's essentially a very budget (but not bad) film, telling the fictionalised story of Conquistador Don Lope de Aguirre.  

The plot is pretty simple and dare I say it, boring. Basically, the principle, spanish characters float down the Amazon on makeshift rafts dreaming of self-rule and wealth beyond wealth heading for a make-believe city of immense riches, El Dorado. Slowly, the band of arrogant would-be-conquerors descends into hunger and mutiny (a bit like in Lord of the Flies), and you can guess the rest. The trip is doomed from the start, but Aguirre is SO convinced that El Dorado exists, nothing can change his mind. The one disconcerting aspect of their journey, is the 'invisible' enemy, i.e the Amazonian natives who can fire poison arrows with such precision, and no one can see where the arrow came from. 

The acting of Klaus Kinski is very convincing, and you can just imagine being with him on that doomed raft of his. Also, the fragility of the 2 female characters in their mid-16th Century European dress markedly plays out amongst the sweat and rusting iron costuming of the men.

Overall, the film is a classic of the cinema for its vision through adversity of location, leading actor, budget and sheer directorial temerity which makes it seem like a documentary. I can't say I enjoyed the film as such and am dying to see it again, BUT it's worth seeing if you enjoy Werner Herzog, and are interested in what he brings to the table.

The second film I saw, was Herzog's 1974 film,The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser with the main character Kaspar being played by Bruno Schleinstein. The film follows the real story of foundling Kaspar Hauser quite closely, using the text of actual letters found with Hauser, although some aspects are left out. Kaspar was a mysterious teenage boy who appeared in the streets of Nuremberg at the age of 17 in 1828, with limited vocabulary and understanding of the world. He claimed that he’d been imprisoned in a cellar most of his life with nothing but a wooden horse to play with. History has revealed he was probably a fantasist, but his mystery has never been solved, and his story makes for a good film. 

The opening scene is of Kaspar in a cellar, his only company is the toy horse, and occasionally a mysterious cloaked man comes in to feed him. Eventually the man decides to take Kaspar outside, to Nuremberg where he is taken in by a military man. Hauser becomes the subject of much curiosity, and is exhibited in a circus before being rescued by Herr Daumer played by Walter Ladengast, who patiently attempts to transform him.

One side to Werner Herzog’s formidable career has always been his interest in congenital misfits – those removed, especially by language, from living inside the norms of society, and Kaspar's story certainly fits this. His scene confounding a visiting logician, by posing a brilliantly intuitive solution to the well-known riddle about a town of liars and one of truth-tellers, is a classic demonstration of crackpot reasoning, as pure a Herzog moment as any you could find. Schleinstein is brilliant, and seems generally puzzled by all which we take for granted in our everyday lives. Surprisingly, Herzog insisted on the casting of a non-professional, a Berlin street musician called Bruno S. This could easily have been a bad decision, but it did pay off. 

The film is said to be one of Herzog's finest and most humane, but as I've only seen 2 Herzog movies, I can't vouch for this myself ! I did enjoy the film however, and again as I said before, if you want to marvel at Herzog's creations, I do recommend it. 

The Miracle of Bern

The other day, my father and I watched The Miracle of Bern (Das Wunder von Bern) directed by Soenke Wortmann. As it's a football film, I really wasn't looking forward to it and thought it would be purely football, but how wrong I was !! Behind the facade of the 'miracle' 1954 World Cup in Bern, is the story of a young and very cute boy, Matthias Lubanski, played amazingly by the young Louis Klamroth. The film can be regarded as a portrait of post-war Germany, as we see, impoverished Essen (where I did a German Exchange!), a mining area, in contrast with prospering Munich, and then Switzerland. 

So Matthias is the lucky mascot bag carrier for a local/national footballer Helmut Rahn, played by Sascha Goepel, who playes for Rot-Weiss Essen as well as the national side. His now depressed father Richard returns from 11 years as a prisoner of war in Russia, and is a changed man, not used to the new, changing Germany, and his backward ways of disciplining his children, whom have also changed (the eldest son to communism and his daughter to dancing with british soldiers!!) during his absence. 

The relationship between Helmut and Matthias is son and father-like, and it is seeing Matthias at the final game in Bern, which causes Rahn to score the winning goal for Germany. I won't go into what the other factors which caused the miracle win were; this you can find out for yourself. For all Germans, it's the unexpected euphoria of a win that heals many wounds, brings the community together at the local pubs (Matthias's mum runs one) and becomes a symbol of the ongoing economic "miracle" or "Wirtschaftswunder" which followed soon after.

I found this film SO emotional, not because it's sad, but because of the hope the characters portray, and the faith they (especially young Matthias) have in the West German national side. Football turns out to be a binding subject between Matthias and his estranged dad, and as I said before, it brought all Germans together. 

The only bad thing I have to say about the film is that I had to have english subtitles on as some of the dialect is quite colloquial as well as the accents.

I'm not the best person to comment on the football aspect of the film, but the German coach, Sepp Herberger, played by Peter Franke, I found to be really inspirational with his pre-match and half time motivational speeches and I believe he was definitely a deciding factor when it came to the world cup. 

Overall, despite the title of the film hinting at the '54 world cup which to me shouts, 'THIS FILM IS PURELY FOOTBALL', I think it's a family story of hope, and shows in a very sensitive way the changes that this world cup have on the Lubanski family and on Germany as a whole. 

If you're to see only one German movie in your lifetime, this HAS to be it. The numerous awards the film received, as well as the hords of people who went to see it, including Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and Peer Steinbrueck to name a few, can back me up here !

The Edukators

I was advised by a teacher at school to watch The Edukators/Die Fetten Jahre sind vorbei, directed by Hans Weingartner. At first the film seems a bit silly and you feel that the protagonists can't really achieve anything so there plan is pointless. BUT, interesting ideas develop and it genuinely makes you think.


The film follows three young anti-capitalist friends in Berlin, Peter played by Stipe Erceg, Jule played by Julia Jentsch, and Jan played by Daniel Bruehl. Jule has a massive debt, due to a car crash involving a very rich businessman called Hardenberg, played by Burghart Klausner. Whilst Peter is in Barcelona, Jan shows Jule what the boys do at night; they break into the houses of Berlin's wealthiest, and change things around, leave notes and graffiti saying things such as 'Your days of plenty are over' and 'you have too much money', but they NEVER steal things. The two get the opportunity to break in to Hardenbergs property, but it all goes wrong, and Hardenberg has to be kidnapped and taken to Jule's uncles house in Bavaria (presumably). Here, is where the interesting conversations happen, and the group find out a lot about each other, including the three-way love triangle which has been happening, unknown by Peter. It's essentially 'free love' as Hardenberg says, a way of life for some hippies/anti-capitalists such as themselves. It is what Hardenberg says that is most moving, and forces the group to re-evaluate the situation.

The film is well-written, beautifully shot, and flawlessly performed. Some of the drawbacks are that it gets a little long and preachy at the end, and the love triangle doesn't add anything to the film, in my opinion. Furthermore, the ending once they are back in Berlin at Hardenbergs house,I really didn't like, but you can decide this for yourself. The constant motion (due to the camera work) puts us right into the characters' world and helps foster an instant connection with them. Despite the pretty basic plot, The Edukators delves into that ill-defined human notion of morality, eventually blurring the line between the ethics of social politics and the ethics of personal relationships.

This movie touches you emotionally, gives you food for thought, which you could discuss for days and days (as I did!) and entertains immensely at the same time. My initial thoughts about the film, were completely changed once I watched it through. 

Also, all three actors are insanely good, but it is Daniel Bruehl (who was also incredible in Goodbye Lenin, which I'll review later) and Julia Jentsch who really stand out for me. I think they could well be the best German actors of their generation. 

GO  AND SEE IT !

Barbara

In 2012 (I've forgotten what month!), I went to see Barbara, a film set in the 1980's in communist East-Germany, directed (really well!) by Christian Petzold.


The main focus is on the mysterious Barbara Wolff played by Nina Hoss, a doctor who has been banished from a hospital in Berlin to work in a provincial clinic in the north as a result of her wish to escape to the West to be with her lover. Due to her distrustful and suspicious nature, she embodies the prevalent feelings of many Germans at the time. Throughout the film, we witness her inability, or perhaps reluctance, to let her guard down as she is kept under strict surveillance by the Stasi (East-German (not so)secret police). Barbara's uncertainties grow as she suspects her co-worker and later lover, André Reiser played by Ronald Zehrfeld is reporting her behaviour to the Stasi. 

Throughout the film she's been devising a way to escape to the West, and just waits for the right moment. I think it's this waiting, and the dullness of life in the East, that creates so much tension ! Everyday, Barbara is on edge that she will be found out and her escape plan will be foiled. However, her plan is changed completely due to a girl called Stella… (I won't give it away!).



The somewhat ambiguous ending leaves some questions annoyingly unanswered. Barbara ultimately succeeds in portraying the bleakness of life in East Germany under Communist regime full of espionage and secrecy, though it is not always consistent in capturing the viewer’s attention and intrigue as some scene are very boring, as the life then was.... Visually the film is wonderfully crafted and realistic throughout. This, combined with stellar performances, makes the film worth watching.

Lore

So in March 2013, I went to see Lore at the cinema on my own (I do have friends).
I thought it was going to be a typical war/post-war film which I don't like at all, as they seem to be the only German films which get shown in British cinemas.. and the topic can get so boring.


However, this film directed by Cate Shortland was surprisingly good. In war-torn Germany, a young woman (Lore) played by Saskia Rosendahl is forced to trek across the country with her young siblings after her parents leave, to seek refuge with their grandmother in the north. It is a unique war story, told from the perspective of the children of Nazis which I've never seen done before and it is as much a coming of age/loss of innocence story as it is a war one.




Lore and her family are strong believers in the nazi regime, and she doesn't know any different. But her party are no longer in power and no longer the good god-fearing men she believed in and she doesn't have her parents for protection. Along the way the young family meet a Jewish refugee played by Kai-Peter Malina, whom she's been told is the enemy. But if she wants her and her siblings to survive, she has to trust him as he trusts her. 

The cinematography in the film was stunning, and the German countryside was bought fully to life. The child actors gave such raw and emotional performances which help us to understand the story and its continuous suspense and mystery, and for the moral challenges it presents through its storyline. I think the film brilliantly blends the social and the individual with its backdrop of the socio-historical landscape of Germany right at the end of WW2 and how the power of that situation impacts on the lives of its protagonists. Lore is an artful illustration of how one generation is affected by the actions or inactions of a previous generation.

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Definitely one to watch !

Run Lola Run (Lola Rennt)

In my last German lesson of the winter term, we watched Run Lola Run !

Lola played by Franka Potente, gets a frantic phone call from her boyfriend, Manni played by Moritz Bleibtreu. It’s 20 minutes to noon, and his boss, who’s meeting him at noon in front of the phone booth he’s calling from, will kill him if he doesn’t have the 100,000 marks which he lost on the subway (which he had to get as Lola's moped got stolen). His only recourse (according to him)is to hold up a nearby supermarket. 

The remainder of the movie gives 3 successive versions of Lola’s 20-minute race against the clock, with different outcomes in each case as she runs across the city to her father’s bank. 

In a compact 90 minutes combining snips of animation, quirky characters, situations and dialogue, and a quick pace. I found the film entertaining, satisfying, and absorbing, as well as flawlessly acted, staged, edited, produced and directed(by Tom Tykwer). I thought that Lola ran her race with flair and style, and left all others way behind. Most importantly the film keeps the viewer guessing until the final frame. I still don't know which of the 3 scenarios was the real one..I guess the director wanted that.

I really recommend this film !

Crazy

Over this Christmas holiday, I read a great teenage novel called 'Crazy' by Benjamin Lebert. It was easy to read and really good for keeping up my German whilst away from school.

I then found the film on youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5m5SJUof0M

A drama about a 16-year-old boy named Benjamin played by Robert Stadlober who, after experiencing some academic problems, is switched to a boarding school in order to improve his grades. When he reaches the new school, he has difficulty acclimating to his new environment along with some coming of age issues, when he falls in love with a dreamy girl Malen whom all the boys fancy. His problems are made worse because of his half-side disability and we sympathise with him.

I found the book very comical, but it might have been for someone a bit younger than me as it was almost too immature. All the same, the characters are really well portrayed, as the acting is very good and the directing by Hans-Christian Schmid is very successful.

This period of life is shown so authentically that everyone will/should be able to identify with the characters (or remember his/her own youth).

A bit about myself..

Hi,

I'm Cassie, a 17 year old A-level Student from North London.
I'm currently doing my A2s- German, Geography and Biology and really enjoy German films (amongst other things!).

Because of my terrible memory, I thought it would be a good idea to keep a blog or diary about the films and perhaps some theatre which I see so I can look back at them and not think 'what was that film I saw about…'. I might even do some posts about culture and anything German really ! It might even help you other Germanists out there…

One thing for sure is that few people my age share my passion for German film, and the few who do are either German themselves or studying it for GCSE/A-Level etc, so I feel it would be cool if more people could get interested in it, and find a film or two which they really like…

So here goes.

:)

P.s, feel free to leave comments ! I want to know what you have to say !