Unfortunately, the Lady Diana portrait “Spencer”, which was shot partly in Berlin and Brandenburg, only came in 7th place in German cinemas.
The fifth part of the horror series “Scream” ended up in second place, albeit with just under 100,000 viewers. So Spider-Man: No Way Home remains at the top.
Two films could offer competition this week: On the one hand there is the mystery thriller “Nightmare Alley” by Oscar winner Guillermo del Toro, on the other hand the animated fun “Sing – The Show of My Life”. Let’s see who wins the race.
“Nightmare Alley” – In times of fears, nightmares and abysses
THE STORY: Stan (Bradley Cooper) flees the past and finds employment at a traveling circus. Here he is particularly interested in the manipulative tricks of magic. Soon he will be on stage himself and become a star. Until he meets psychologist Lilith (Cate Blanchett), who sees through him and gets him involved in a dangerous game.
THE STARS: Bradley Cooper has long since proved after his comedy success “The Hangover” that he can do even more. After that he shone as a traumatized soldier (“American Sniper”) and as an alcoholic singer (“A Star Is Born”). Cate Blanchett played Galadriel in The Lord of the Rings and won Oscars for both Aviator and Blue Jasmine.
THE DIRECTOR: Guillermo del Toro got his 2018 Oscar for Shape of Water. The Mexican has previously enriched fantasy cinema with “Hellboy”, “Pan’s Labyrinth” and “Pacific Rim”.
BG SCORING: The remake of the film noir classic “The Charlatan” (1947) takes the audience back to the 1930s. The Great Depression was marked by fears, nightmares and abysses and made people vulnerable to the occult. A visually stunning and at the same time dark thriller that captivates you (151 min., free from the age of 16).
“Leave in love” – The long suffering on the screen
THE STORY: Benjamin (Benoît Magimel) loves his job as an acting teacher more than anything. Then he got the news that he had cancer. His doctor (Gabriel Sara) gives him another year to live. He should use it to prepare for the farewell. His mother Crystal (Catherine Deneuve) is particularly overwhelmed by the situation. But there is no way out.
THE STARS: Catherine Deneuve has been in the film business for 65 years. She celebrated her breakthrough in the 1960s with The Umbrellas of Cherbourg and Disgust. The 78-year-old entered the new millennium with “8 women”. Benoît Magimel has also become a fixture of French cinema with films such as “Hass”, “The Piano Player” and “The Flower of Evil”.
THE DIRECTOR: Emmanuelle Bercot ended her dance and acting career to switch to directing in 1994. Since then, the Parisian has directed films such as “Student, 19, sucht…” or “Madame recommends herself”.
BG RATING: A deeply sad melodrama that wants to touch you emotionally. Nothing is glossed over, and yet the suffering on screen is often unbearably prolonged. You should be clear beforehand what you are getting yourself into (122 min., free from the age of 12).
“Effigie – The Poison and the City”
THE STORY: In 1828, court clerk Cato Böhmer (Elisa Thiemann) in Bremen dreams of becoming a lawyer. But women are forbidden to study. A poison attack startles the population. The widow Gesche Gottfried ((Suzan Anbeh) comes under suspicion, and Cato believes he can wring a confession from the alleged perpetrator.
THE STARS: So far, Elisa Thiemann has mainly played for television (“The Usedom Crime”) and for web series (“Jojo sucht das Glück”). Suzan Anbeh initially worked as a model and has already stood in front of the camera alongside Meg Ryan (“French Kiss”), Moritz Bleibtreu (“Elementar particles”) and Jeff Goldblum (“Fay Grim”).
THE DIRECTOR: Udo Flohr learned his craft at Film Arche eV Berlin. For 400,000 euros he made his directorial debut with “Effigie – Das Gift und die Stadt”.
BG RATING: Gesche Gottfried (1785 – 1831) really existed. She was executed and previously inspired Rainer Werner Fassbinder (“Bremer Freiheit”). A historical criminal case that Udo Flohr unrolls again in an exciting and impressive way. The role of women in the 19th century is also examined and questioned (85 min., free from the age of 12).
The special film: “Nobody with the calves”
THE STORY: Working on a farm in Mecklenburg-West Pomerania is not for Christin (Saskia Rosendahl). Her boyfriend Jan (Rick Okon) doesn’t say anything as long as she takes care of the calves from time to time. The tide turns when windmill engineer Klaus (Godehard Giese) appears and awakens a longing for the big wide world in Christin.
THE STARS: Saskia Rosendahl was born in Halle but lives in Berlin. She most recently played the female lead in “Fabian” alongside Tom Schilling and was awarded “Best Actress” at the Locarno Film Festival. Rick Okon is known as the Dortmund “Tatort” commissioner and as the lieutenant captain from the TV series “Das Boot”.
THE DIRECTOR: After various short films, Sabrina Sarabi directed her feature film debut “Prélude” in 2019.
BG RATING: Based on the novel by Alina Herbing, a melancholy milieu study about the bleak life in the country was created. All this from the point of view of a young woman who still has to decide where she belongs. Rosendahl convinces, but it takes time to get involved in her game (116 mins, free from 16).
Cinema for kids: “Sing – The show of your life”
THE STORY: If you dream of fame, you need a bigger stage. That’s why the Koala Buster Moon wants to go to a bigger theater with his talent troupe. But first he has to convince the owner, Wolf Jimmy Crystal. He bites when the name of rock legend Clay Calloway is mentioned. But the grizzled lion has long since retired, so the koala must be tricky.
THE STARS: Many stars from music, film and television came together in the German dubbing studio: Peter Maffay speaks Clay Calloway, Stefanie Kloß (Silbermond) a porcupine with a guitar, Bastian Pastewka the music manager Buster Moon, Wotan Wilke Möhring (“The Perfect Secret “) the wolf, Alexandra María Lara (“The King’s Man”) a pig and Iris Berben (“Dream Women”) a sheep.
THE DIRECTOR: Garth Jennings started making music videos for rock bands like Radiohead and Travis. His first feature film, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, followed in 2005. With the animated film “Sing” the Briton had another big screen hit.
BG RATING: Five years later, the sequel “Sing – The Show of Your Life” is presented to us. The beautiful and at the same time hard world of show business is looked at even more colorfully, shrillly and merrily. However, the fact that the characters are played by cute animals lets the fun dominate (110 min., free from 0).
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