Zwei zu eins

A movie whose amateurish production is only undercut by its underlying ideology. Making such a high-caliber cast look so weak is an art in itself. Due to the almost non-existent narrative structure, the one-dimensional characters and the incredibly simplistic world view, the movie drags on painfully and after 30 minutes it feels like you've already spent two hours. The supposed moral superiority of the protagonists is imposed so forcefully that it becomes unbearable at some point.

If you are into Ostalgie and self-pity and consider the socialism of the former GDR to be the superior political system, this movie is a good choice. For the rest, rather not.

Stories based on the notion that "truth is stranger than fiction" often provide a great foundation for comedy, and writer-director Natja Brunckhorst's second feature is evidence of that. This fact-based tale set in 1990 during the transitionary days of German reunification follows the newly uncertain lives of a group of working class residents in the city of Halberstadt as they seek to cope with the emerging social, economic and political paradigm that has been thrust upon them. As their East German homeland is absorbed into its Western counterpart, the socialist nation begins evolving into a new capitalist enclave. But this process is fraught with serious fiscal consequences with hard-hitting impact on East Germany's citizens, many of whom now find themselves without work and a source of income, prospects that are likely to persist for at least a year, if not longer. And, unless they swap their soon-to-be-worthless East German currency for Deutsch Marks by a fast-approaching deadline, they'll be without savings and working capital, too. So, in the face of these pressing circumstances, it's truly ironic that a quartet of financially strapped locals should stumble into a huge stash of East German money that's been casually disposed of in an underground (and surprisingly easily accessible) bunker, left to decay - and available for the taking. They impulsively grab as much as they can carry, but they're nevertheless left with the question of what to do with it in the face of the impending exchange deadline. The answer lies in a creative money laundering scheme cleverly cooked up with a host of similarly situated community residents who seek to not only trade in the newly acquired cash without drawing undue attention, but also to expand upon the legitimately scrubbed reserves to build an even larger mutually held nest-egg. Doing so has its share of challenges, though, both economically and personally, yielding more than its share of surprises, conflicts and hearty belly laughs. While the film is a little slow to get started and has a few moments that either could have been eliminated or executed more deftly, "Two to One" otherwise delivers on all fronts. The picture's fine ensemble cast, crisp writing, catchy soundtrack and spot-on period piece production values mesh well, spinning an inspiring, touching and humorous underdog yarn about hard-pressed everyday folks rising up to address extraordinary circumstances. It's also a feel good, family-oriented tale told in an unlikely setting under unlikely conditions that are probably little known to those outside of Germany, but one that effectively proves once again that the truth really is often stranger than fiction.

This movie portrays those days perfectly. I remember it exactly like that, the colors, the environment, the way people thought and behaved. A bit confusing because everything happened very fast, as not to lose the window of opportunity to unify Germany again. Actually realistic, even if doesn't seem so for an outsider.

The relationship between the characters shows the liberty that some citizens took, the little freedom they had. The collapse of the communist system happened exactly like that. Many people were quite lost and overwhelmed by the changes. The movie shows the human side inmidst of that chaos.

I was not born yet during the separation of Eastern and Western Germany, so I can´t speak to any nostalgic value that this movie might have for people who experienced this crucial part of German history. However, this movie fails in almost every other aspect. I really don´t want to be mean, but I think this might have been the worst movie that I have seen in the cinema this year.

The first thing you notice is how bad it looks. The colour coding is fine, but overall it just looks cheap. I am sure this was not a big budget production (aside from the pretty high level cast), but particularly the "action" sequences have this "TV commercial" look. It is hard to describe, but I could not unsee it once I noticed it. Some scenes are also edited in a weird way where the camera lingers on for a few seconds, even though the characters have left the scene already, which makes everything seem very slow.

The second thing you notice is the unnatural sounding dialogue. The conversations don´t flow naturally, many sentences are phrased in a way that might sound good written out on paper, but no one would actually talk like that. Scenes have to get from one point to another, and you can tell that the dialogue tries to get there as quickly as possible, without bothering to make it sound authentic.

But what´s worst is the plot itself that is overall very inconsistent, poorly structured, lacks tension, and does at times not make much sense.

The basic premise of stealing old money and trying to turn it into new one is very straightforward. Add making a little fun about the greedy Westerners and you have a fun little movie. But the movie takes itself way too seriously. It wants to make big statements about how money corrupts, how they will deliver justice to their neighbourhood, how they have been lied to by their government...but all these themes are totally underexplored, because there are too many of them. In one scene, the movie goes into one direction, characters seem to be motivated by a certain thing, just to abandon this plotline completely and have everyone focus on something completely different. This is also exemplified by the one guy from the "love triangle" that wants to leave, then wants to come back, then wants to leave, then wants to come back etc. What outcome are we rooting for?

While the whole story is going for a "feel-good" vibe, it turns very childish instead in my opinion. The sequences of stealing the money and being chased by the guards feel like taken straight from a cartoon. Conflicts (out of which there are few) are resolved immediately before they can build up actual tension. Meanwhile side characters (out of which there are too many) are reduced to one-dimensional stereotypes. The way the story is told is targeted at children, while those children will most likely not be able to relate to the topic of the movie at all.

And just a brief point about the main plot itself (SPOILER ALERT). Their plan of buying as many western goods as possible with their "worthless" money and then selling them in the West to make a profit is already pretty implausible. Do they really think they will be able to privately sell back all those insane amounts of stuff that are being sold in the West anyway? Fine. But you are telling me, that this fraction of money that will be brought into the German market from this one residential block is enough to make the German government worry about inflation? Come on. This whole security apparatus in the money storage facility is also ridiculous. They are guarding piles of worthless money with an armada of machine gun slinging guards and vehicles, that are then bribed into letting everyone go by getting a microwave? Kids movie, sure.

Overall, I did not have high expectations, but it was still a disappointing experience. Even the great actors could not save it. 2/10.

1990: The BRD GmbH is structurally badly damaged and needs a new economic miracle. The remedy came in the form of a purely self-orientated incorporation of the once-separated part. The great saviours brought false freedom, shattered dreams and took functioning economic goods and a well-trained, motivated (cheap) workforce. Skilled labour, not the denigration of the word, which is currently being flushed into the country under the same name. A new market for the rubbish of western culture emerged out of nowhere, the old part sent its most unscrupulous soldiers of fortune to conquer the new wild land, squeeze it dry and get it on track. The new heads were the most incompetent people from the West and, apart from a few pawns, the old ones from the East. After all, the old Nazi-based BRD had good experience with this.

A bittersweet journey through time and probably only suitable for viewers of certain backgrounds. Everyone else will not understand things like cohesion and community. But all this was quickly replaced by the new values, foreign exchange and consumption. The inner turmoil after waking up in a new world is only touched on roughly and rather strikingly in the film, but the change to greed for values is portrayed better. "Two to One" obviously wants to entertain first and foremost, as can be seen from the poster; depth and drama were therefore a secondary priority. However, the running time is a little too long for this concept. Sandra Hüller is undoubtedly the marketing drawcard, but is subordinate to the rest of the cast. Despite the hint of Hollywood, we are clearly in the 'German' genre, including sepia-toned visuals and a soothing soundtrack. Nevertheless, it is an interesting look back and, with a little thought, quite moving.