Das Leben ist eine Baustelle. (1997)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

Wolfgang Becker

Writers:

Wolfgang Becker (writer)
Tom Tykwer (writer)

Release Date:

20 March 1997 (Germany)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Plot:

After he loses his job, his father, and his girlfriend, Jan's life is a shambles. Then suddenly he meets freakish street musician Vera, and a bittersweet romance unfolds...

Plot Keywords:

Slaughterhouse | Riot | Police | German Reunification | Female Nudity

Awards:

7 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Jürgen Vogel	...	Jan Nebel
Christiane Paul	...	Vera
Ricky Tomlinson	...	Buddy
Christina Papamichou	...	Kristina
Martina Gedeck	...	Lilo
Armin Rohde	...	Harri
Rebecca Hessing	...	Jenni
Andrea Sawatzki	...	Sylvia
Frank-Michael Köbe	...	Zivi 1 / Undercover Police Officer #1
Rainer Werner	...	Zivi 2 / Undercover Police Officer #2
Uwe Richter	...	Polizist 1 / Police Officer #1
Frank Kessler	...	Polizist 2 / Police Officer #2
Oliver Heschke	...	Polizist 3 / Police Officer #3
Hans Seck	...	Mann mit Hund / Man with Dog
Klaus Dieter Stenzel	...	Mieter / Tenant (as Klaus Stenzel)

Also Known As:

Life Is All You Get

Runtime:

115 min

Country:

Germany

Language:

German

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

New Zealand:R13 | Germany:12 (w) | Spain:13 | UK:18

Filming Locations:

Alexanderplatz, Mitte, Berlin, Germany

Company:

X-Filme Creative Pool

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Keinohrhasen (2007)

One of the best "slice of life" movies I've seen

Set in the newly reunified Berlin of the 90's, "Life is All You Get" (english title)is one of those really excellent movies that tell a story of not only some interesting people, but of the time & place in which they live. Jan is struggling to get by, working in a slaughterhouse, staying with his sister, her smart & funny little girl, and her lout of a husband. A series of major upsets impacts his life: His ex-girlfriend tells him she's got AIDS, his father dies face down in a plate of ravioli, and, while accidentally caught up in a street riot, Jan knocks down a couple of guys chasing a woman (named Vera) - not knowing that they're plain-clothes cops trying to arrest her. He loses his job at this time, too, and faces a nearly impossible task of paying the heavy fine for assaulting the cops. On the bright side, he and Vera begin a relationship - haltingly, and (for him) clumsily - as they negotiate life in a city experiencing the very awkward transition between two political worlds. The characters & situations beautifully straddle the line between the wholly believable and the hysterically quirky. It's really a shame that this film didn't get an official U.S. release - it's well worth your time.