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The plot kernel of this German black-and-white crime film is very strong, with the protagonist recruited as bagman for an industrial espionage job. But the plot isn't fleshed out enough, with too many gaps in logic, almost no characterization, and too much left unexplained. A lot of screen time is wasted with transition scenes where characters are driving or walking from place to place. And there are too many segments where two people are talking and the camera only shows the non-reactive listener instead of the speaker, seemingly to make overdubbing easier, since neither character displays emotion. The only seeming emotion in the film was a few seconds when Monika Zinnenberg was happily dancing. The soundtrack includes some cover music from Liberty Records, including numbers by Cher, Johnny Rivers, and The Ventures. The main characters are mostly unemotional but quite attractive, and some of the arty camera shots are visually impressive. The film probably succeeds on some level, as a French New Wave / New German Cinema hybrid, even if it is not fulfilling for a mainstream audience.

The elders of Wen Lin (Li-Hua Yang portraying a male role) and Shu Hua (Ling-Ling Hsieh) want them to be married. Wen Lin agrees but spoiled and self-centered Shu Hua objects because she wants wealth and luxury while Wen Lin is just a cow herdsman who aspires to be a scholar. Ling-Ling Hsieh's flowing arm movements are delightful to watch.

Ranetki is a light soap opera about a group of Russian high school girls who form a rock band. These comments pertain to the first season only. Most of the story is either set in the high school or the apartments where the girls live with their parent(s). Aside from the girls, most of the other roles are classmates, parents, or school staff. The central character is Anya, who also adds some voice-over narration. Although the girls are band members, there is very little of their music in each episode.

This review is from an American's perspective, based on a viewing of the subtitled Season 1. Although the series has various shortcomings, I still found most episodes enjoyable and worthwhile. The five girls have different appealing personalities, all of the other regular cast members are likable, and some elements of Russian daily life seem exotic. There are a few sparkling lines of dialogue.

The series does have flaws, including production values reminiscent of U.S. 1960's TV shows. There are also too-lengthy transition shots, implausible audience exuberance at band performances, and contrived story arcs. This is not a series to be binge-watched over a weekend, but an episode per day works fine.

If Americans are considering watching this series, I would recommend first watching the web video of Ranetki performing the classic Shocking Blue song, "Venus", in English. That would be a nice introduction, instead of just viewing the series cold.