1. Mai (2008)

An eleven-year-old Turkish boy, two young men from a small town, and a cuckolded policeman from the sticks all find their way to Berlin on May Day, where, in the district of Kreuzberg, ... See full summary »

Directors:

Jan-Christoph Glaser, Carsten Ludwig,

Writers:

Carsten Ludwig, Michael Proehl,

Stars:

Benjamin Höppner, Leonie Brandis, Randy Herbst

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Benjamin Höppner	...	Uwe
Leonie Brandis	...	Ingrid
Randy Herbst	...	Schinken-Raddatz Jr.
Torsten Michaelis	...	Martin
Hans Löw	...	Schröder
Maja Schöne	...	Elke
Thorsten Förster	...	Policeman #1
Rüdiger Kühmstedt	...	Policeman #2
Bruno F. Apitz	...	Einsatzleiter (as Bruno Apitz)
Jacob Matschenz	...	Jacob
Ludwig Trepte	...	'Pelle' Pelletier
Theo Vadersen	...	Busfahrer (as Teo Vadersen)
Cemal Subasi	...	Yavuz
Godehard Giese	...	Policeman
Oktay Özdemir	...	Nebi

Storyline

An eleven-year-old Turkish boy, two young men from a small town, and a cuckolded policeman from the sticks all find their way to Berlin on May Day, where, in the district of Kreuzberg, emotions come to the boil every year. Little Yavuz is eager to gain recognition and is determined to 'floor a cop' in order to impress his older brother. But then he meets Hary, a onetime member of the student revolts of the late sixties, and things turn out completely differently. Jacob and Pelle from Minden are hell-bent on having a boys' own adventure in the capital. They are a couple of inquisitive tourists cruising for a bruising, drifting aimlessly between sightseeing, their search for the city's best kebab shop and the protest march of the anarchic 'Black Block'. As the ruckus begins, policeman Uwe has problems of quite a different kind. He and his colleague have been assigned to calm the situation in Kreuzberg. But his wife turns unfaithful and he finds himself in the midst of a major personal ...

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Plot Keywords:

multi plot | first of may | demonstration | kreuzberg berlin | riot | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Official Sites:

Official site [de]

Country:

Germany

Language:

German

Release Date:

30 April 2008 (Germany)

Also Known As:

1. Mai - Das Ende vom Lied

Filming Locations:

Berlin, Germany

Company Credits

Production Co:

Jetfilm, Frisbeefilms

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

User Reviews

Student-film-ish, but true-to-life depiction of contemporary Berlin

Berlin is a fascinating place and this film reflects a slice of contemporary Berlin that I haven't seen so accurately portrayed elsewhere. The film is at its best when it sticks to relatively low-drama depictions of the fabric of the society surrounding the May 1st festival in today's Berlin. The film-maker focuses on small side stories about, for instance, second-generation immigrant youth, unhappy police officers and a true-to-life Quixotic leftist, left over from political struggles that smack of merely "historical" relevance.

The film is flawed, unwilling to be satisfied with the sort of gentle drama & humor that works so well throughout. I don't know the background of the film -- if it is an experiment, I hope the director will decide with me that some parts worked and some didn't and go on to make more movies in the mode of what worked, here.