Berlin Calling

Does a movie need to provide answers or is some room for interpretation sometimes the better choice? Berlin Calling does not take the bait to occupy the moral high ground. Instead it is an authentic movie about the music and party scene in Berlin, including its „dark side": drugs.

In a way this movie does not have a beginning and no end, it is an ultimate extract of life – life in the electronic music scene in Berlin.

The pace of the story is fast, almost like the rhythm of the electronic beats - an awesome soundtrack. Berlin Calling is authentic and entertaining movie with great acting and fantastic directing.

The movie feels „(a)live" and to followers of electronic music this is a definite must-see. The only criticism that Berlin Calling may have to accept is that self-experiencing the Berlin party scene may still be better.

I was fortunate enough to view the screening of this movie in Toronto on September 7th. I too have to agree that this movie should have been selected for the Toronto International Film Festival.

The movie portrays the life of techno dj as it really is including: gigs, relationships, record deals, touring and drug use. This is the closest you will get to real life. As one of the above users stated anyone who is from the Hardcore/Underground can tell you that this movie will bring quivers up your spine as to how real it portrays.

From beginning to end this film is non stop action. An extremely talented cast mixed with a great direction and an incredible soundtrack made for probably of my favourite films related to e-music to date.

"Berlin Calling" is an ambitious film that looks into the dark side of the German electronic music but doesn't seem to know what to say about it. Director Hannes Stohr makes a wise move in casting real life electronic musician Paul Kalkbrenner in the lead role of (the overbearingly metaphorically named) DJ Ikarus.

On the cusp of releasing his greatest record Ikarus succumbs to the effects of his longtime drug use and is admitted into a psych ward. From here, the film veers wildly in tone recalling the excesses of "Trainspotting" and the tension of "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest" without ever find a middleground. Subplots involving a teenage fan who works at the hospital; his on again/off again bisexual girlfriend and his dealer never really develop into anything substantial. Worse, Stohr doesn't seem to know what he wants to say about drug use. Is it necessary for creative artists? Is it an evil? Is it OK in small doses? He offers middling cases for each scenario but doesn't make any unique observations.

That said, the music in the film is fantastic. Written by Kalkbrenner himself, it casts a great light on the contemporary German electronic scene and if there is any reason to see the film, it's for the music. He manages to make the subtle shifts in tone and mood accessible for even the casual music fan which is a feat in itself.

"Berlin Calling" is not a documentary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, that would be "Berlin Falling". Nor is it a documentary on the 80's New Wave extraordinaire band Berlin (smell a severe case of "biasism" since it is my all-time favorite band), that would be "Berlin Hailing". The "Berlin Calling" I am referring to is the powerful independent German film "Berlin Calling". Professional Trance Music Disc Jockey Paul Kalkbrenner stars as D.J. Ickarus, a passionate & talented German trance spinning musician who also spins too many methamphetamines, hallucinogens, and narcotics in his daily social tunes. D.J. Ickarus drug-addiction downfall lands him in a Berlin psychiatric center, which Ickarus finds too icky for his taste. Ickarus does cause havoc in the psychiatric center a la Jack Nicholson's character in "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest". Rita Lengyel effectively plays Mathilde, Ickarus' devoted but gradually frustrated girlfriend who tries excessively to help Ick get out of the icky ills of his drug addiction while at the same trying to salvage his career. Corinna Harfouch psyches up her acting portraying Professor Dr. Detra Paul, the authoritative psychiatric center director who is a cross between Nurse Hatchett and Dr. Phil. She feels that Ickarus is a danger to others and possibly himself so therefore she pulls her own mental control spins on him. Kalkbrenner's performance as Ickarus was mind-boggling and put me in a trance of acting endowment. Moreover, the multi-talented Kalkbrenner's musical trance mixes caused me to want to get on "The Metro" and go "Dancing In Berlin" in Kalkbrenner's Tranceylvannia village! Writer-Director Hannes Stohr has many compelling and masterful plot lines & visuals stored for you in his imaginative film-making orchestration of "Berlin Calling". An innovative narrative of the music trance environment captured in film-making has been long overdue. I was elated that Hannes had the upper hand in its origination! "Berlin Calling" also called to my attention its chart-topping cinematography, art direction, and of course musical score. Hannes' "Berlin Calling" screenplay was also quite a comedic but yet gripping one that did not need "No More Words" to be regarded wordy adequate. I did have the pleasure to experience "Berlin Calling" at The Miami International Film Festival in March 2009. Hopefully, a film studio distributor will sign up the film so everyone could be in the mix to the surreal cinematic art form of the brilliant "Berlin Calling". ***** Excellent

The movie is dynamic, full of emotions and wonderful electronic music. It is definitely not a movie about Berlin party scene, Berlin is the backdrop of the movie.

Club scene is associated with drugs, but it is not a movie about drugs either. Yes the main character is a drug addict DJ who has mental issues but the movie is not Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, neither One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest.

The movie explores the life of an artist, his choices, his abysmal loneliness, creativity and above all his relations to other people.

Even though there are some occasional character zigzags, the movie wanders in our emotions in a beautiful way.

I have seen the movie during If Film Festival in Istanbul and regretted that I had missed the performance of DJ Paul Kalkbrenner ten days ago.