hanskauf

The dramatic pattern of various loosely connected stories of different people has given us a few remarkable films lately, like the Mexican AMORES PERROS or LICHTER (lights) from Germany. September can be compared to them, although here the stories are related to a common background, which is September 11th 2001. So we see a lot of TV-screens with news and statements, occasionally taken 1:1 on the movie screen.

Germany, September 2001. Among the portrayed people we have a broker who deals on a daily basis with colleagues in the WTC, his wife leading an unfulfilled life in their luxury home. He wants divorce. – A policeman of the anti-terrorist force wants to sell his 1967 Corvette, materialized American dream to him. He sort of takes personal the terrorist assault. – A mixed couple, he Pakistani, she German, both working in a Pizzeria. When the crash happens, the woman cannot stand her husband not expressing his feelings – she doubts, if he as a Muslim feels for the victims.

Humour is scarce but intelligently employed in the movie. The funny part belongs to a journalist fighting to write his article on the terrible events. When his girlfriend bursts in, she gives him an intellectual statement, which makes him change his mind and his article. You'll have to wait a bit for the point.

All these couples have their own relationship-conflicts. The film is on the impact of media suffering, placing it against the personal problems of the characters. The heaviest statement comes from the broker, who tells his wife: "You have no right in their suffering, it's their own." Do we maintain too much distance to unknown people's hardships, or too little? How do we deal with media realities?

These are justified and topical questions, and September accomplishes some reflection about them. The script works well, although it is far from the brilliance of LICHTER. Acting is immaculate. What I didn't like is the stylish camera, with close-ups that expose the protagonists and resemble certain TV-techniques. More distance would have been better. Anyway it is worth watching, I give it a 7.

I do not agree at all with the enthusiastic comments listed before. Knockin' on heaven's door maybe conceived as the ultimate new German comedy (actor Til Schweiger participates as producer) - what came out is in my eyes a quite embarrassing product.

The fulfilment of adolescent dreams of uninhibited consume (cars, girls, champagne - highly original) forms the base of the plot. Inserted are all types of clichés (from respected actor Moritz Bleibtreu as a dumb Arab mumbling in bad German, to the sentimental ending in the North-Sea-sunset). What really annoyed me is the dull kind of humor blank of every subtlety, which the movie celebrates from the beginning to the end. To say something positive, the camera word is fresh and at times inventive. As an example for a well-done and funny German comedy, see "Frau Rettich, die Czerni und ich" from 1998. Or else, stick to Laurel and Hardy.

This is the first time I have seen a movie set in the extraordinary Spreewald, a wood-and-water landscape south-east of Berlin. In this remote and picturesque surroundings, a man of about 60 is living alone, doing some fishing, and - you can guess it - hiding from his past. Of course, the past crawls up to him in the shape of a young girl, and so step by step, we get to know what happened. Seems that as a young man, Boran has done a stupidity and without knowing it, spoiled the lives of several persons. Apart from the worn-off and quite predictable plot, the movie has some qualities. Wonderful actor Mathias Habich for example, strange but credible characters and the beautiful and unique setting - largely exploited by the camera. All in all a watchable little film.