Böse Zellen (2003)

Director:

Barbara Albert

Writer:

Barbara Albert (writer)

Release Date:

21 November 2003 (Austria)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot Keywords:

Car Crash | Austria

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Kathrin Resetarits	...	Manu
Ursula Strauss	...	Andrea, Manu's best friend
Georg Friedrich	...	Andreas, Manu's husband
Marion Mitterhammer	...	Gerlinde, Manu's sister
Martin Brambach	...	Reini, Manu's brother
Rupert L. Lehofer	...	Lukas
Bellinda Akwa-Asare	...	Sandra
Gabriela Schmoll	...	Belinda, Sandra's Mother
Christian Ghera	...	Heinrich
Karl Fischer	...	Karl
Désirée Ourada	...	Patricia
Dominik Hartel	...	Kai
Nicole Skala	...	Gabi
Deborah Ten Brink	...	Yvonne, Manu's daughter
Alfred Worel	...	Josef

Also Known As:

Free Radicals (Europe: English title) (International: English title)

Runtime:

120 min

Country:

Austria | Germany | Switzerland

Language:

German

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Sweden:15 | Hong Kong:III | Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Bratislava, Slovakia

Company:

Coop 99

Movie Connections:

References Magnolia (1999)

Soundtrack:

Take on me

almost too realistic

The film opens with a butterfly flapping its wings, causing a tropical thunderstorm to erupt over brasil.

Böse Zellen is a movie about many things. Chaos, coincidence and circumstance is one of its topics. Death, loss and desperation is another. Side blows are dealt out to our society of commerce and capitalism in the places selected for the shooting (shopping malls, a fast food restaurant, pedestrian areas, supermarkets).

The characters in this movie, while coming from different backgrounds, have a thing in common, they are lonely. Most are also sad and unbearably desperate. They all fight for someone or something, even though they do now know what it is they want. But somehow they find the strength to overcome this loneliness, the desperation and go on, and some of them even struggle hard enough to find happiness.

Seeing the movie in a theater here in Austria made me feel uneasy. It is this way with most austrian films I see. Seeing my fellow countrymen on the movie screen makes me ashamed for them. I think I even know the reason why, it is probably because austrian filmmakers have a tendency towards realism in portraying everyday lives. I have been so brainwashed with perfect Hollywood people and their perfect lives it startles me to see real people being portrayed in a movie. Böse Zellen is a class of its own where realism is concerned. Seldom before I have seen people depicted so authentic in the way they go about their everyday lives. Its also an incredibly sad movie, but its not going to make audiences cry because it is sad in a casual way. The characters have accepted what is happening to and around them and that way they can go on with their lives.

9 out of 10