No Place to Go (2000)
"Die Unberührbare" (original title)

Flanders, a famous female author, travels 1989 after the fall of the Berlin wall into the German capitol. She is deeply depressed of the events because she saw the communistic states as a ... See full summary »

Director:

Oskar Roehler

Writer:

Oskar Roehler

Stars:

Hannelore Elsner, Vadim Glowna, Jasmin Tabatabai

14 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Hannelore Elsner	...	Hanna Flanders
Vadim Glowna	...	Bruno
Jasmin Tabatabai	...	Meret
Lars Rudolph	...	Viktor
Michael Gwisdek	...	Joachim
Nina Petri	...	Grete
Tonio Arango	...	Ronald
Claudia Geisler	...	Carmen
Catherine H. Flemming	...	Isabelle (as Catherine Flemming)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Thomas Bading	...	Alfons (as Thomas Barding)
Gunda Ebert	...	Claudi
Hansjürgen Frintrop	...	Verlagsangestellte
Michael Gaißmayer	...	Unscheid
Helga Göring	...	Hanna's Mother
Christine Harbort	...	Irene

Storyline

Flanders, a famous female author, travels 1989 after the fall of the Berlin wall into the German capitol. She is deeply depressed of the events because she saw the communistic states as a very good thing that has now ended. In the joy of these days she finds no person to understand her, so she has to travel back to Munich. After meeting several people, known and unknown, it seems as if there will be no way to go.

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Plot Keywords:

writer | german reunification

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

Germany

Language:

German

Release Date:

20 April 2000 (Germany)

Also Known As:

No Place to Go

Filming Locations:

Berlin, Germany

Company Credits

Production Co:

Distant Dreams Filmproduktion, Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (ZDF)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The character "Hanna Flanders" is based on the life of German author Gisela Elsner, Oskar Roehler's real life mother, who committed suicide in 1992.

User Reviews

intermittently interesting character study

The premise of this movie is a little silly, that a spoiled 50 year old Leninist writer living in West Germany finds her life unraveling due to the fact that the Berlin Wall has just come down. It's a little far fetched, but not entirely unbelievable. Like the flip side of "it's an ill wind", in this case it would be "it's a rare wind that doesn't blow somebody ill".

And I suppose it's pretty obvious that Hanna Flanders is meant to represent and symbolize the badly faded beauty of communism. But this didn't have much resonance for me.

All that political stuff aside, this was an extremely episodic movie. And unfortunately, most of the episodes just fell flat. One or two were engaging, and one, the one involving her spending the night with her horribly alcoholic ex-husband, was both pointless and extremely ugly, almost unwatchable.

The upside is that this was an extremely well crafted movie, apart from the screenplay. The cinematography, acting, directing, were all first rate. It's a pity they were wasted on a screenplay that was as cold, flat and ugly as the old regime it was directed against.

Another positive aspect is that the whole syndrome/complex of someone trying to use drugs to cope with reality and maintain an emotional equilibrium was well observed. And the fact that it was someone who should know better, an intelligent middle aged woman, was also useful. As shallow and self centered as Hanna is, I still felt some pity for her as a fellow human being.