Sandra Bullock and Brad Pitt were only able to climb to second place in the German cinema charts with their adventure film “The Lost City”. The third part of “Fantastic Beasts” remains the crowd favorite. The blue hedgehog from “Sonic – The Hedgehog 2” lingers in 3rd place.
By Markus Tschiedert
The theatrical releases of the new week are unlikely to be able to do much about this. Although the new Andreas Dresen film “Rabiye Kurnaz vs. George W. Bush” is absolutely worth seeing. With “Downton Abbey II – A New Era” a British noble family is also back, which has already celebrated great success on television. Here are our new products.
“Rabiye Kurnaz against George W. Bush” – A German-Turkish housewife is suing the US President
THE STORY: Rabiye Kurnaz (Meltem Kaptan) is a Turkish housewife in Bremen. Shortly after the attacks of September 11, 2011, she found out that her son had been arrested. Now he is in Guantanamo, although there is no evidence of his guilt. Rabiye turns to the lawyer Bernhard Docke (Alexander Scheer), who goes with her to the highest US court.
THE STARS: So far, Meltem Kaptan had made a name for herself as a comedian (“Quatsch Comedy Club”). She immediately received the Silver Bear at this year’s Berlinale for her first leading role in a cinema. Alexander Scheer received the German Film Prize for “Gundermann” in 2019. The Berliner has also played Keith Richards (“The Wild Life”) and Andy Warhol (“Enfant Terrible”).
THE DIRECTOR: Andreas Dresen also received the German Film Prize for “Gundermann”. After “Halt auf freierstrecke” and “Cloud 9” it is already the third for the Berliner.
BG RATING: A true case that could make one despair. But despite the extreme drama, Dresen always tickles cheerful moments out of the action, and thanks to Meltem Kaptan it works wonderfully (118 min., free from 6).
“Downton Abbey II – A New Era” – A British noble family in France
THE STORY: There is once again high excitement at Downton Abbey. A film crew has announced that it will be on the property. But the landlord Robert Crawley (Hugh Bonneville) and his wife Cora (Elizabeth McGovern) prefer to travel to the south of France. Here Lady Violet (Maggie Smith) has inherited a mansion. But who was this foreign patron?
THE STARS: Hugh Bonneville became internationally famous through the series “Downton Abbey” and then starred in “Paddington”. Elizabeth McGovern previously had her biggest groove in Once Upon a Time in America as the lover of Robert de Niro. Maggie Smith has been in the business for over 60 years and is well known to young viewers as Minerva McGonagall from Harry Potter.
THE DIRECTOR: Simon Curtis has been married to Elizabeth McGovern for 30 years and has made a name for himself with “My Weekend with Marilyn”, “A Lady in Gold” and “Goodbye Christopher Robin”.
BG RATING: After the popular TV series, the first movie was released in 2019. It was so well received that it has to continue now. The insight into the English aristocracy and their servants once again creates solid cinematic enjoyment with a typically British bite (126 min., free from 0).
“Everything Everywhere All At Once” – When you want too much of everything
THE STORY: Evelyn Wang (Michelle Yeoh) is from China and runs a laundromat in America. But trouble is lurking everywhere, and her life is slowly getting out of control. Until she gets the chance to go to other dimensions. But jumping from one universe to another also has its pitfalls.
THE STARS: Michelle Yeoh became an international star as a Bond girl in “Tomorrow Never Dies” (1997) and as a martial artist in “Tiger & Dragon” (2000). Jamie Lee Curtis (“Halloween”) reappears in another role as a lowly tax officer.
THE DIRECTORS: Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert already made a name for themselves in 2016 with “Swiss Army Man” with Daniel Radcliffe as the corpse.
BG RATING: A mind-boggling trip that would love to be fantasy film, comedy and drama all rolled into one. But it’s so crazy that you can hardly follow it and the hysterical escapades through the universes soon become just annoying. Maybe less would have been more (140 min., free from the age of 12).
The special film: “The Seed”
THE STORY: Craftsman Rainer (Hanno Koffler) moves with his wife Nadine (Anna Blomeier) and their daughter into a house in need of renovation. When he loses his job as construction manager, money runs out and the family is put to the test.
THE STARS: Hanno Koffler played his first cinema roles in “Anatomy 2” and “Krabat”. With his performances alongside Max Riemelt in “Freier Fall” and in Rosa von Praunheim’s “Härte”, the Berliner received a great deal of applause. With Robert Stadlober, who plays his disgusting boss here, he was already in front of the camera for “Sommersturm”.
THE DIRECTOR: Mia Maariel Meyer is Hanno Koffler’s partner. Under her direction he already played a gambler in “Stairs Up” (2015).
BG RATING: This haunting social drama explores what happens to ordinary people who lose out everywhere because others simply have more power or assertiveness. Blind rage is the result, and that also has a long-lasting effect on the audience (100 min., free from the age of 12).
Cinema for kids: “The Odyssey”
THE STORY: Because a new power in Europe is on a campaign of conquest and leaves scorched earth everywhere, a family has to leave their village. Daughter Kyona and her little brother Adriel are lost on the run. Completely on their own, the two join a group of street children. But again and again human traffickers are on the move who want evil.
THE STARS: Hanna Schygulla speaks the adult Kyona, who tells from her memories. The Fassbinder star (The Marriage of Maria Braun) can currently also be seen in Francois Ozon’s “Everything went well” in the cinema. Derya Fletschner speaks the young Kyona. The Berliner has been in the dubbing studio since she was six years old and is also the voice of Amandla Stenberg.
THE DIRECTOR: The French Florence Miailhe was inspired by the story of her mother Mireille Miailhe’s escape during the Second World War and by stories told by her grandmother. She worked on her film for three years, which was still made by hand (oil on glass) and without computer tricks.
BG RATING: The story is frighteningly topical. It is mainly children who suffer from expulsion, flight and immigration, ultimately producing traumatized adults. The hand-painted pictures give the film a fairytale magic, but because of its content it is not suitable for very small viewers (84 min., free from 12).
