In 2015, thirty year old refugee Francis, the sole survivor of a boat that illegally crossed the Mediterranean, is drawn into Berlin's seedy underbelly.
"Berlin Alexanderplatz" is one of those films from the filmclub that I can't say much about, even if I really liked it.
With its 3 hours, the film is of course a commitment and I really didn't think that the film would never feel long despite the long runtime. But Burhan Qurbani manages to use these 3 hours perfectly, so that no moment feels unnecessary or too long. The film and the story develop their own drive and pull you deeper and deeper into it together with the protagonist. The film could have been 15 minutes shorter, but it's never boring and the runtime is never really noticeable. This is primarily due to the fact that the film is technically masterfully executed. Cinematography and scores are great and the film has a great use of light, a really great look and is very well written.
Welket Bungué delivers a really powerful and convincing performance and carries this film with ease, but also the supporting actors like Jella Haase and especially Albrecht Schuch are really great and have great dynamics with each other.
"Berlin Alexanderplatz" is extremely authentic and strong and in my opinion one of the best German films of the last few years which shows that German film can be so much more than the same unfunny comedies with the same unfunny actors.
"Berlin Alexanderplatz" is one of those films from the filmclub that I can't say much about, even if I really liked it.
With its 3 hours, the film is of course a commitment and I really didn't think that the film would never feel long despite the long runtime. But Burhan Qurbani manages to use these 3 hours perfectly, so that no moment feels unnecessary or too long. The film and the story develop their own drive and pull you deeper and deeper into it together with the protagonist. The film could have been 15 minutes shorter, but it's never boring and the runtime is never really noticeable. This is primarily due to the fact that the film is technically masterfully executed. Cinematography and scores are great and the film has a great use of light, a really great look and is very well written.
Welket Bungué delivers a really powerful and convincing performance and carries this film with ease, but also the supporting actors like Jella Haase and especially Albrecht Schuch are really great and have great dynamics with each other.
"Berlin Alexanderplatz" is extremely authentic and strong and in my opinion one of the best German films of the last few years which shows that German film can be so much more than the same unfunny comedies with the same unfunny actors.
