Director Rainer Simon was already over 50 years old when he directed the film "FERNES LAND PA-ISCH" in 1993 that is just as wild as the young protagonist himself. Because Umberto's path from the narrowness of the small town in the Ore Mountains to another, longingly dreamed-of country in Africa is going differently than expected. When he arrives in the west, he looks into a world full of colorful lights, temptations, distorted images and abysses. The odyssey of the young person in search of his identity is told in powerful images and almost fragmentary scenes, supported by intense sounds. His mother is played by Renate Krößner, who said in "SOLO SUNNY" (1980), "Fall down, cry, sometimes a few pills too many, but then get up and carry on." In the film, however, she is helpless with the to cope with the new situation so that their children have to face the new times alone.
Simon's film is not as tame as the almost documentary cinema of the post-reunification era, which is why the film is so much more than its mere synopsis suggests. We dive into exciting, exaggerated cinematic worlds, which in their licentiousness are reminiscent of Enzo G. Castellari's "1990: I guerrieri del Bronx" (1990). Kreuzberg looks as dystopian as the Booklyn of the motorcycle gangs there.
In addition to a cast of stars from the old DEFA days, Simon works with amateur actors and also allows them to change their dialogues, which makes the film look refreshingly lifelike. Unlike today, there is no sterile theater language here, but real dialect in all its forms.
In a 1993 interview, Simon said: "Fortunately, I was very naive when preparing for "Fernes Land Pa-isch". Unfortunately, today I already know exactly what is feasible and what is not, like my colleagues from the West. Then you know which risk makes sense and which is just a waste of time. The censorship is taking place in the mind again. You are content."
The FSK rating completely misunderstood the film produced by Studio Babelsberg and initially approved it as FSK18. The intentions of the film were only understood in the objection proceedings and accepted with the decision "16+". Unfortunately, the film did not get a big theatrical release in 1993 and was only shown on television in 2000. That is a shame, because Simon has succeeded in making a brilliant contribution about the reality of the "Wende" (German reunification) in Germany, which is pure, powerful cinema and deserves to be seen.
