Free Rainer

There is something when it comes to film and German, during their film history they have give us several of the best films ever made, but the latest decay film in German has only been about Tom Tykwer. Perheaps Hans Weingartner is the man to change that, his earlier film Die Fetten Jahre sind vorbei was a great comedy/drama. In this film he is using basically the same theory, but it is much better done. It is not about young people protesting against society, it is about a man that wakes up and discover that everything he stands for is "shit", and then gathering some folks to start a revolution against the entertainment industry and television companies. The film entertains until the end.

I saw this movie yesterday in the San Sebastian Film Festival. I liked the message a lot.A German TV executive has a wake-up call and changes his life ,supporting a culture-driven society.

In these days , TV programs are usually rubbish, and a lot people think in that way, it's difficult to find programs with real interest. So Reclaim your Brain for me is a very good title. We,Citizens, are very tired of this rubbish we are sold day over day. we can change the world!.

But this change is not in the movies, but In our everyday's life.

thank you to all the crew of this movie for doing this picture.

A nice stab at what we get on our TVs. Apart from the commercials (and the fact that they cut movies in Germany to show them) it's the main reason I don't watch any TV anymore. "Reality" TV shows and other stuff have taken over. So the movie is still and will be relevant. Shouldn't it have impacted a lot more though and make people think about what they watch?

I don't think so and I don't really agree with where the movie goes towards the end. It takes the edge of a bit for me. Of course this only being a movie and only wanting to entertain is one thing. But I would have liked if it stayed as cynical as it started off. There are some phrases thrown in, that could spark discussions though (what was there first: bad programming or the viewers?). But again I don't agree with the answers the movie provides.

I don't get where all these jealous people come from who are writing those bad comments... First of all, this is not a comedy, it's a drama about the modern television, how it manipulates us and our lives.

The actors, as in DIE FETTEN JAHRE SIND VORBEI are very well casted and do a pretty good job here, especially Bleibtreu. The photography is manily realistic and in a documentary style and so is the acting. Some might think that its a bit overdosed showing the TV-producers doing nothing else than sniffing coke and being assholes but those who work in the business will recognize most of it.

I really enjoyed watching the movie, even if it could have been a bit shorter and to the point. There are not many directors in Germany which are brave enough to write such explosive stuff!

Hans Weingartner's third movie is a harsh but highly legitimate comment on today's television program.

Unlike in "Die Fetten Jahre sind vorbei" you could find many things to criticize here - while the comparison to that last movie can hardly be avoided. Much of "Free Rainer" has obviously been inspired by the same concepts, which could make you question how much inspiration there was behind this movie at all. You will find many points that leave a rather ambivalent impression concerning realism - the ending has to be called "fantasy like". At few points does the movie really convince with its' optimistic idea of how the characters and the whole scenario develops.

So what makes "Free Rainer" worth watching? Simple as often: It's the message behind all of this - which can only be understood as a comment on today's world of television. And as for this comment: There has since long not been said anything more important in a movie! Weingartner's portrait of a sick and sickening life standard drawn by the TV world is very close to reality. The rather negative way in which the TV executives appear might even be called too optimistic - while in the movie they seem just to be immoral and very well knowing what they do, reality might look somewhat worse: Most of the people in charge are probably acting in accordance to their very own moral principles.

One critic wrote "Weingartner's movie is a crude comment on an even cruder television". Very right!