Buba

Wonderfully dark and quirky comedy. I highly recommend watching this in German (with subtitles) so you can appreciate the brilliance that is Bjarne Mädel. His Buba character was the best part about "how to sell drugs online" so I'm thrilled they gave this character it's own origin story movie.

IF you liked this, check out Tatortreiniger (Crime Scene Cleaner) which was Mädel's most iconic role. Same director. But look for the German original, not the British remake.

This is a fabulous orgy of weird and wonderful characters in a bizarre tale that is tragic yet hypnotic. A unique idea told very well with some funny moments and great cinematography.

Buba is a refreshing change from the usual barrage of foreign films that Netflix adds to its catalogue every year, with the scripts and performances of the latter being very one note.

Buba however immediately holds your attention from the very first scene, huge thanks in part to the lead actor who gives off a very likeable and charming persona and also has great comic timing. He reminds me a lot of French actor Gerard Derpedaeu from the 80s-90s You instantly start rooting for his down on his luck character to succeed.

Another thing I liked about the film is that it smartly avoided any gratuitous sex scene or even implied ones. There is a love interest for our main character but verges more on a Platonic affair that is more appealing emotionally to the audience.

However, the film really starts losing momentum by the time it reaches the 3rd act and seems to be in a rush to somehow patch up all the plot points they had introduced earlier without properly concluding them.

But despite its flaws, Buba provided amicable entertainment for a 1 time watch.

This movie excells at presenting charming trash characters and offers a unique premise and overall presentation that is both depressingly bleak and at the same time very colourful and goofy. Especially the two brothers are wellcasted and played, some smaller roles are lacking though. For a movie like this, I feel like the music could have been more vibrant and attention grabbing. I imagine some punk bands would fit well, which is a rare opportunity for a movie.

Anyway, the biggest flaw of the movie is the lack of a overall drive/motivation. Yes, technically there is motivation for every scene, but it's just not a lot. The side plot actually has more power than the main plot. This is especially the case in the second act where the movie drags a bit.

Overall this was a nice experience simply because it was refreshing, but it won't be a movie that is going to reach cult status or any big numbers.

I watched it for 51 minutes, then I just couldn't endure it any more. Too boring, too many repetitions.

The actors are great, the settings awesome, the costumes rock, but the story ... what is it? Who cares?

What do the characters want? Go to Disneyland? Well go or don't go, I couldn't care less.

None of it matters.

Funny moustaches and trashy track suites just aren't enough to keep me entertained.

The tempo is so slow, I thought it was a series, at fierst.