The BZ film tips from “Freibad” to “Come with me to the cinema – The Gregors”

By Markus Tschiedert

Amusing things continue in the cinema this week. Doris Dörrie causes a war to break out among women in the “Freibad”. Jessica Schwarz transports a corpse across Italy in Over & Out, and Tilda Swinton finds herself in a fairy tale in Three Thousand Years of Longing.

“Outdoor pool” – burkini or topless

THE STORY: A small swimming pool somewhere in Bavaria. Only women are allowed in here, men have to stay outside. Eva (Andrea Sawatzki) and Gabi (Maria Happel) come almost every day and like to gossip about others. However, when the student Yasemin (Nilam Farooq) jumps into the water in the all-covering burkini, they are speechless. Eva provokes by entering the pool topless. The situation escalates when more Muslim women visit the male-free bath. Lifeguard Steffi (Melodie Wakivuamina) doesn’t want to anymore and resigns. A man (Samuel Schneider) is hired as a replacement.

THE STARS: Andrea Sawatzki not only makes people laugh in the cinema, but also on television, where a new episode of “The Bundschuh Family” (September 1, ZDF) is being broadcast. Her novel “Brunnenstraße” was also published in February, with which the Bavarian, who lives in Berlin, came to terms with her childhood with a seriously ill father. Nilam Farooq received the Lubitsch Prize for “Contra” just last week. Born in Berlin, she was last in the cinema with “Enclosed Society” and just celebrated a television success with “Who steals the show from me”.

THE DIRECTOR: Doris Dörrie lives alternately in Berlin and Munich. In 1985 she caused a sensation with her comedy “Men”. The success has also remained true to her with “No one loves me”, “Am I beautiful” and “Naked”. Born in Hanover, she has published a number of books as an author, most recently “Die Heldin travels”.

BG RATING: An open-air pool where all women should be free. But narrow-mindedness also prevails among feminists when their own worldview begins to falter. Triggered here by women from foreign cultures who define freedom differently. This exchange of blows feeds the humor that plays with clichés and also works with exaggerations, which is quite permissible in a comedy. This unmasks false moral claims, which in turn leads to an endless loop of discrimination (102 min., free from the age of 12).

“Over & Out” – Road trip with a dead body

THE STORY: When getting married, all girls are invited. Lea (Jessica Schwarz), Steffi (Julia Becker), Toni (Petra Schmidt-Schaller) and Maja (Nora Tschirner) promised that early on. So Maja invites you to the wedding in Italy. But black must be worn instead of white. Maya passed away. Her last will: The friends should take their corpse to a secret place.

THE STARS: Jessica Schwarz was discovered as a bravo girl and had a successful career with films like “Parfum”, “Romy” or “The Perfect Secret”. Nora Tschirner celebrated her breakthrough with “Keinohrhasen”. After that, the Berliner became “Tatort” commissioner and best friend of Karoline Herfurth in “SMS für Dich” and “Beautiful”.

THE DIRECTOR: As an actress, Julia Becker has appeared in both TV series (“Dr. Klein”) and in the cinema (“System Crasher”). With “Over & Out” the Berliner delivers her second feature film after “Maybe, Baby!” and at the same time took on one of the four main roles.

BG RATING: There are plenty of road movies in which death rides along. As in “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door” or most recently “Happiness on a scale from 1 to 10”, it is a journey into the interior for all passengers. Here, too, topics such as grief, dreams and loyalty are dealt with in a dialogue-heavy manner. But the genre is not really enriched by this (110 min., free from the age of 12).

“Three Thousand Years of Longing” – The master and her genie

THE STORY: Alithea Binnie (Tilda Swinton) buys a small old bottle in the antique shop in Istanbul. When the scientist is cleaning them in the hotel room, she frees a genie in a bottle. The Djinn (Idris Elba) wants to grant her three wishes. However, Alithea refuses. The jinn fears for his freedom and tells his story that spans 3000 years.

THE STARS: Idris Elba is currently also in the animal horror film “Beast – Hunters Without Mercy” in the cinema. The Brit has already played Nelson “Mandela” and Heimdall from the “Avengers” films. Tilda Swinton alternates between arthouse cinema (“Suspiria”) and blockbusters (“Doctor Strange”).

DIRECTOR: George Miller is the man who brought Mad Max to the screen 42 years ago. In “Mad Max: Fury Road” (2015) he brought his hero back. The Australian landed further hits with “A Pig Called Babe” and “Happy Feet”.

BG RATING: Actually, myth and science are supposed to be juxtaposed here, but the story gets lost – sometimes a fantasy spectacle when the Djinn tells stories from the past, sometimes a love story when the new master falls for her bottle genie. But neither really works (102 min., free from the age of 12).

The special film: “L’état et moi – The state and I”

THE STORY: In 1871 the composer Hans List (Sophie Rois) joined the Paris Commune. But the next moment he finds himself in present-day Berlin. When an opera by him is to be performed, List smuggles in as an extra and wreaks havoc.

THE STARS: Sophie Rois recently appeared in “AEIOU”. The Austrian, who lives in Berlin, began her career at the Volksbühne, and she also conquered the big screen with “We can also do it differently”. This time she can be seen in a double role. Among others, Jeremy Mockridge (“Cleo”) acts at her side.

THE DIRECTOR: Max Linz studied at the FU and at the DFFB. After “I don’t want to get excited artificially” and “Further on Sanssouci”, he delivers his third feature film with “L’état et moi – The state and I”.

BG RATING: An absurd story between past and present, enriched with a number of slapstick interludes and running gags. Where the director wants to go with this remains undecided (85 min., free from the age of 12).

The insider tip: “Come with me to the cinema – The Gregors”

THE STORY: Ullrich Gregor and Erika Steinhoff met in 1957 at a performance of the classic “Menschen am Sonntag”. They share a love of cinema. They founded the association ‘Friends of the German Cinematheque’, headed the ‘Forum des Junges Films’ at the Berlinale, and ran the Arsenal cinema in Schöneberg. In between, they also become parents.

THE STARS: Ulrich Gregor was born in Hamburg in 1932, came to West Berlin and initially wrote film reviews. His wife Erika was born near Bremen in 1934 and studied at the FU Berlin, where the performance of “Menschen am Sonntag” also took place.

THE DIRECTOR: Alice Agneskirchner studied directing at the ‘Konrad Wolf’ film school in Potsdam. Since then she has dedicated herself to documentaries (“24h Berlin”, “20 x Brandenburg”).

BG RATING: A revealing documentary that gives us a look back at earlier filmmaking in Berlin and an insight into the life of the Gregors. This is illustrated with old original recordings and excerpts from important films. Worth seeing (161 min., free from 12)!