Cologne, Germany -- Documentaries have made a comeback at this year's Berlin International Film Festival, with non-fiction titles spread across the festival's sections. The Perspektive Deutsches Kino lineup of young German cinema is no different. Docs make up nearly half of the 2010 program.
Most are unflinching looks at present-day reality, such as Anna Hoffmann's "The Housemaid," a portrait of Polish domestic servant working in Germany; or the self-explanatory "Portraits of German alcoholics" from Carolin Schmitz.
Even the fictional films this year have a strong strain of realism -- such as "Outside" from Florian Schewe, which follows a man trying to help his friend who has recently been released from prison. Or Juliane Engelmann's "Scars in Concrete" about a young mother trapped on the edges of society.
Perspektives will also welcome back director Rp Kahl, who took part in the section in it's inaugural year in 2002. Kahl is back with "Bedways,...
Most are unflinching looks at present-day reality, such as Anna Hoffmann's "The Housemaid," a portrait of Polish domestic servant working in Germany; or the self-explanatory "Portraits of German alcoholics" from Carolin Schmitz.
Even the fictional films this year have a strong strain of realism -- such as "Outside" from Florian Schewe, which follows a man trying to help his friend who has recently been released from prison. Or Juliane Engelmann's "Scars in Concrete" about a young mother trapped on the edges of society.
Perspektives will also welcome back director Rp Kahl, who took part in the section in it's inaugural year in 2002. Kahl is back with "Bedways,...
- 1/14/2010
- by By Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The mind of a teenaged boy is a scary place at the best of times but if it's as frightening as writer/director Eva Urthaler imagines it to be in Keller (Basement) -- Teenage Wasteland, then we're in deep trouble.
A fierce story about two boys who almost absent-mindedly kidnap and violate an attractive woman, it is unlikely to escape the festival circuit but it is a tremendous showcase for Urthaler's skills.
The Austrian filmmaker's use of an abandoned factory as the setting for most of the action is a simple device expertly utilized to convey the way the boys have lost their way.
Paul (Ludwig Trepte) is a shy poor boy with a sick mother and an absent father. Sebastian (Sergej Moya) says his father is a rich businessman and he appears spoiled and keen to befriend and dominate Paul.
Petty theft, vandalism and idle chatter fill their after school hours until a shop assistant (Elisabetta Rocchetti) catches Sebastian stealing a bottle of vodka. The boys follow her from the store and end up assaulting her in the laundry room of her apartment building.
With brutal carelessness, they wheel her unconscious body to the disused factory and tie her to a chair. But their hostage is completely alien to them as if they have no idea she's human. They have no clue what to do next but it's bound to be not good.
It's a pessimistic picture, but Urthaler explores her theme of how society can breed callous and empty minds with compelling authority.
A fierce story about two boys who almost absent-mindedly kidnap and violate an attractive woman, it is unlikely to escape the festival circuit but it is a tremendous showcase for Urthaler's skills.
The Austrian filmmaker's use of an abandoned factory as the setting for most of the action is a simple device expertly utilized to convey the way the boys have lost their way.
Paul (Ludwig Trepte) is a shy poor boy with a sick mother and an absent father. Sebastian (Sergej Moya) says his father is a rich businessman and he appears spoiled and keen to befriend and dominate Paul.
Petty theft, vandalism and idle chatter fill their after school hours until a shop assistant (Elisabetta Rocchetti) catches Sebastian stealing a bottle of vodka. The boys follow her from the store and end up assaulting her in the laundry room of her apartment building.
With brutal carelessness, they wheel her unconscious body to the disused factory and tie her to a chair. But their hostage is completely alien to them as if they have no idea she's human. They have no clue what to do next but it's bound to be not good.
It's a pessimistic picture, but Urthaler explores her theme of how society can breed callous and empty minds with compelling authority.
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