By Markus Tschiedert
Surprise! The Bavarian crime comedy “Guglhupfgeschwader” made it to number 1 in the German cinema charts right away. All hope was pinned on Brad Pitt in Bullet Train. But he only made it to 3rd place. In between, the “Minions” dropped to second place.
And what’s new in the cinema? Among other things, a rather long-winded science fiction film that you can say “nope” to. A German tragicomedy that ends in “Sweet Disaster” and a reunion with “Winnetou” – this time, however, as a boy.
“Nope” – Close Encounter with a Cloud
THE STORY: Siblings OJ (Daniel Kaluuya) and Enerald (Keke Palmer) run a horse ranch for filming. But the animals are behaving strangely, and at night OJ senses that something strange is going on. He spots a cloud in the sky that hasn’t moved in weeks. What’s in the cloud? The assumption that these are aliens is growing.
THE STARS: Daniel Kaluuya won an Oscar last year for his role in Judas and the Black Messiah. The Brit became known with “Get Out” and “Black Panther”. Keke Palmer had her own talk show in the US, Just Keke. Then she starred in the series “Berlin Station”.
THE DIRECTOR: Jordan Peele received critical acclaim for his directorial debut, Get Out. He also stayed true to the horror genre with “Wir”. He previously worked as an actor, including in the series “Obama”.
BG RATING: Above all, the film relies on an eerie atmosphere that is constantly fueled by inexplicable events. But nothing more happens for a long time. Then comes the showdown, but that too is rather modest. There have been better Alien films (130 mins, free for ages 12 and up).
“The Englishman who got on a bus and drove to the end of the world” – A pensioner on a journey
The Englishman (Timothy Spall) who got on the bus and drove to the end of the world… Photo: capelight pictures
THE STORY: After the death of his wife Mary (Phyllis Logan), Tom (Tomothy Spall) embarks on a long journey. With free bus travel as a pensioner, he takes on the rigors of getting from the northernmost to the southernmost point of Britain. Along the way, memories from his youth keep popping up in his head.
THE STARS: Most people know Timothy Spall as Peter Pettigrew from the Harry Potter films. But the London native has so much more on his plate. He was chosen for “Mr. Turner” was awarded ‘Best Actor’ in Cannes and the European Film Prize. He was last seen as Lady Diana’s butler in Spencer. Phyllis Logan plays the role of Mrs. Hughes in “Dowenton Abbey”, she also played in “Dr. Who” and “Inspector Barnaby” with.
THE DIRECTOR: Gillies MacKinnon’s previous directing credits include The Playboys with Albert Finney, Marrakech with Kate Winslet and A House in Ireland with Andie Mac Dowell.
BG RATING: A heartwarming tragic comedy with a wonderful leading actor. After a number of absurd situations with other passengers that make you smile, the more emotional moments dominate towards the end. One wishes nothing more fervently than that the retiree actually reaches the destination of his journey (86 min., free from the age of 6).
“Sweet Disaster” – Pregnant, 40 and alone
Frida (Friederike Kempter) not only experiences this disaster – she is also pregnant and newly abandoned Photo: AnneBolick, Zeitgeist Film Production
THE STORY: Just now Felix (Florian Lukas) gives her the pass. Because the 40-year-old Frida (Friederike Kempter) is pregnant, and he is the father. While Felix gets back together with his ex, Frida decides to raise the child alone. But she doesn’t want to give up that quickly and decides to get Felix back.
THE STARS: Friederike Kempter studied in Berlin at the acting school ‘Der Kreis’. Since then, the Swabian has been doing well in business. In the cinema she was seen alongside Oliver Pocher (“Vollidiot”), Til Schweiger (“Kokowääh”) and Tom Schilling (“Oh Boy”). Florian Lukas was born in Berlin, had his first hit at the cinema with “Good Bye, Lenin!”, has since also worked internationally (“Grand Budapest Hotel”) and most recently portrayed “Heinrich Vogeler”.
THE DIRECTOR: Born in Finland, Laura Lehmus lived in Berlin for a long time, but returned to her homeland. Before her first feature film, she tried herself artificially in short films and documentaries.
BG RATING: Despite the serious background, the story never loses its lightness. This is achieved with the protagonist’s dreamy view of the world and with tricky animations. Laura Lehmus processed her own experiences with the film, but left out all resentment (93 min., free from 0).
The special film: “Alcarràs – The Last Harvest”
Everything in the family still revolves around peaches – maybe for the last time Photo: Pfiffl Media
THE STORY: The harvest is about to begin on a peach farm in Catalonia. The whole family helps. But it could be the last time. Because they are only the tenants, and when the owner dies, the land is to be sold in order to build a huge solar system there.
THE STARS: Most of the cast, including Anna Otin and Jordi Pujol Dolcet as the heads of the family, were in front of the camera for the first time.
THE DIRECTOR: Carla Simón already took part in the Berlinale 2017 with her first feature film “Frida’s Summer”. For “Alcarràs”, the Spaniard was inspired by her own family. The premiere took place at this year’s Berlinale and Simón promptly won the Golden Bear.
BG RATING: Again and again you watch how peaches are picked. In the distance the first excavators are already lurking, family life goes on sometimes sadly, sometimes happily. This often seems like a reportage without a dramaturgical superstructure, and the protagonists don’t really come close, except for the children (120 min., free from the age of 6).
Cinema for kids: “The young chief Winnetou”
Young Winnetou (Mika Ullritz) and his friend Tom Silver (Milo Haaf) sneak up on him Photo: Leonine Studios
THE STORY: At 12, Winnetou (Mika Ullritz) has nothing but nonsense in his head. Meanwhile, his father (Mehmet Kurtulus) has other concerns. The buffalo have disappeared and his people are threatened with famine. Then Winnetou learns where the herd might have gone to. He escapes and runs straight into the arms of villain Todd Crow (Anatole Taubman).
THE STARS: Mika Ullritz, now 14, made his debut in the TV series “Storm of Love” and is now following in the footsteps of Pierre Brice (1929-2015). Mehmet Kurtulus was previously a Hamburg “Tatort” commissioner and became known with “Short and Painless”. Anatole Taubman played a villain in Quantum of Solace.
THE DIRECTOR: From 2012 to 2017, Mike Marzuk shot all five parts of “Friends Five” based on the children’s book series of the same name.
BG RATING: An adventure film with cowboys and Indians that is not only intended to appeal to children, but also to older calibers who grew up with the old “Winnetou” films from the sixties and now have the opportunity to introduce their offspring to the Karl May stories (103 min., free from 0).