Oh Boy (2012)

This tragicomedy is a self-ironic portrait of a young man who drops out of university and ends up wandering the streets of the city he lives: Berlin. The film deals with the desire to ... See full summary »

Director:

Jan Ole Gerster

Writer:

Jan Ole Gerster (screenplay)

Stars:

Tom Schilling, Alexander Altomirianos, Inga Birkenfeld

19 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Tom Schilling	...	Niko Fischer
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Alexander Altomirianos	...	Ticketverkäufer
Inga Birkenfeld	...	Hannah
Fred Aaron Blake	...	Café-Gast
Martin Brambach	...	Kontrolleur Jörg
Annika Ernst	...	Prostituierte
Michael Gwisdek	...	Friedrich
Katharina Hauck	...	Café-Besitzerin
Robert Hofmann	...	Pascal
Marc Hosemann	...	Matze
Steffen Jürgens	...	Ralf (as Steffen C. Jürgens)
Rolf Peter Kahl	...	Kontrolleur Stefan (as RP Kahl)
Friederike Kempter	...	Julika Hoffmann
Arnd Klawitter	...	Phillip Rauch
Frederick Lau	...	Ronny

Storyline

This tragicomedy is a self-ironic portrait of a young man who drops out of university and ends up wandering the streets of the city he lives: Berlin. The film deals with the desire to participate in life and the difficulty to find one's place. Black and white, tragic and funny, Oh Boy! is a winning debut from director Jan Ole Gerster.

---

Plot Keywords:

psychologist | golf | atm machine | alcoholism | theater | 

---

Genres:

Comedy | Drama

---

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Germany]

Country:

Germany

Language:

German English

Release Date:

1 November 2012 (Germany)

Also Known As:

Sakra, kluku!

Filming Locations:

Berlin, Germany

Company Credits

Production Co:

Schiwago Film, Chromosom Filmproduktion, Hessischer Rundfunk (HR)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

83 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

User Reviews

postcard to berlin's gen Y

Just saw this movie, and still struggling to understand what it is about really, so for me its mostly about a certain generation of people in a certain city. These guys, born in the 80s, grew up in when new German mentality is being formed, Germany that is normal and yet still struggling with its past. The past is the nazism and collective guilt, that is receding, yet has its imprint on the people. the new is the normality - a society where kids of rich parents can afford not to work and just wonder around city while enjoying simple pleasures of sex/drugs and sarcasm. Where kids are still bullying the fatties (without making connections with Nazis bullying their victims). Where ridiculous films about important things in life are being shot. The soundtrack is echoing the jazz era's swing (lindy hop and electoswing are very popular among that generation of euros), the black/white style with a lot of closeups reminds of the era too (and of some other movies). There is a bit of a 'funny' line in the movie that allows for some hope: the inability to get a cup of coffee during the unlucky day and a cup available during final shop, at the dawn of the next day.

All in all, the film is very reminiscent of "Oslo, august 31st". Both follow a youthful character for a day as he wonders the city, visits with friends, registers surroundings. Both finish at the dawn of the next day. In Oslo, the protagonist is in his mid 30s, here in late 20s. But Oslo has more purpose, a story, sense etc. Yet, Oslo might not be a true 'postcard' to the City in the 00s while "Oh Boy" is to Berlin in the 00s. The sense of tragedy and extreme outcomes of the 20-40s that is in the basis of the screenplay for Oslo, is simply not there for the 90-00's, the result is a similar in atmosphere and structure, yet a very different in a meaning (or lack of it) film.

Another thing i wanted to note, that the difference in the stories' outcomes is also reflected throughout the films in how characters relate to the world. In Oslo, the protagonist seems to be completely outside of the world of the others. In Oh Boy, though protagonist talks about this feeling of being a stranger, he, in fact, is very connected to the world, in every scene, you see the character involving himself with the fellow denizens of the city (whether learning from an old German in a bar, escaping a robbery, drinking with a depressed neighbor or ... etc)...

I also felt the film was a bit longish, and a bit lacking in coherent story, and somewhat full of quotations, so 7/10 is the highest I would give, maybe even 6 :)