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.
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.
