I’m going to be honest here. The line-up of films screening at this year’s Audi German Film Festival looks a little….depressing.
A man resorts to an illegal drug trial to help bring home extra money, to tragic effect. A beautiful 20-something discovers she has a rare form of cancer with not much time left to live. A guy turns up on the doorstep of his former friend – now married with two kids – to chillingly reclaim his old girlfriend who has been “on loan” since a childhood pact. An illiterate 10-year-old boy lives hand to mouth with his single mother in a housing estate.
A woman in her 40s is dumped by her husband and her attempts to re-enter the dating game produce two exciting options: a) some dude with sado-machistic obsessions and b) another who is heavily into drugs and bizarre behaviours. Three sisters take a final trip to Paris because one of them is dying of heart failure. A crime thriller that starts off sounding quite good takes a grisly turn when the serial killings turn out to have victims all missing large amounts of skin. (Yes, skin.) Are you starting to get the picture?
Even the stories of lust and sexual chemistry have a dark bent this year – like, the couple who work in a seaside resort can’t just have an affair, she has to be an alcoholic as well.
Where’s the frivolity of Germany’s neighbouring Mediterranean cinema? The colourful passions of Spanish film, the (often comical) French tales of seduction and romance? Where are my favourite German superstars, Daniel Bruhl and Franka Potente? The jolly Hofbrauhaus? I’d even settle for Inspector Rex, everyone’s favourite Austrian police dog. None of them rsvp-ed here though, unfortunately.
Of course, dark content or not, there is no denying the quality of filmmaking in this year’s selection of German cinema. Just look at the prestigious festivals all around the world these films have been selected to screen at. Those tales that look “depressing” at first are actually more like dramedies that sure, touch on serious subject matter, but are more often than not sprinkled with plenty of comedy too.
The special celebrations surrounding the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 sound particularly great. There are documentary short film screenings, plus a live music intermezzo by Berlin cabaret pop band The Beez. Alas, this part of the program is not making its way to Brisbane, only Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra.
Then there are the Kids Kapers program of children’s films, which look really exciting actually! (how old am I?). Speaking to my inner Enid Blyton geek are Famous Five 2 and Hanni & Nanni 3, both based on characters created by Blyton, while V8 – Start Your Engines contains possibly the best synopsis of the entire program – it is dubbed as a ”family-friendly version of Fast and Furious”.
Here are some other highlights of this year’s 2014 Audi German Film Festival:
Zum Geburtstag (A Pact): Aussies will no doubt recognise actress Saskia Rosendahl here; the rising German star was originally discovered by director Cate Shortland for her German-shot Australian film Lore (2012), for which Rosendahl won an AACTA award. She pops up in this thriller set in 1980s East Germany, where two teenage boys set up a pact where one of them takes the other’s girlfriend… which can be reversed down the track. Years later, Anna (Marie Baumer) and Paul (Mark Waschke) are married with two children, but the initial pact comes back to haunt them when Georg (Sylvester Groth) shows up.
Venue: Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane
Visitors (Die Besucher): When Jacob, a chemist, springs a surprise visit on his three grown-up offspring after a long absence, he discovers a truckload of hidden resentments and unresolved issues. His three kids are all struggling with their lives, so are more than happy to take their father’s money, but refuse to relate to him in any real manner: the younger daughter is having an affair with a much-older man but is ashamed of her father; the son has yet to finish university and his career is non-existent; while the older daughter, working as a horticulturist, seems to have it all together. Except she doesn’t. When good old dad reveals he is unemployed and can no longer support them, all three must face up to reality.
Venue: Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane
Banklady: Based on the true story of West Germany’s first female bank robber, Gisela Werler, this crime drama has distinct echoes of Bonnie & Clyde and The Thomas Crown Affair. It’s a tale of Werler’s escapades during the 1960s, and her development from shy worker to calculating crim. Nadeshda Brennicke puts in an extraordinary performance as the notorious felon, which earned her the Silver Hugo for Best Actress at the Chicago International Film Festival. Audiences can quiz her all about it when she tours Australia for a series of Q&As prior to screenings of her other films, The Phantom and Tattoo.
Venue: Banklady screens at Sydney and Melbourne opening nights
Gaming Instinct (Spieltrieb): Germany’s answer to Cruel Intentions, this controversial coming-of-age drama follows two teens who like stirring up a little chaos amongst the teaching staff of a local high school. Alev is a manipulative student who likes to push boundaries, while Ada is a 15-year-old outsider who likes to indulge in some seriously un-school like behaviour. Sexual issues are explored and blackmail is par for the course. This insight into the minds of young people and contemporary disaffection leads to a number of twists and turns that will leave you gasping until the end.
Venue: Sydney, Melbourne
Lovely Louise: Louise is living in a dream land. Her glamorous acting days are long gone, but she still tries to live the high life in her picturesque Swiss town. Luckily her middle-aged taxi driver son looks after her as best he can. So how will their lives change when Louise’s long lost other son arrives on their doorstep? Will the two brothers ever get along? Will the elderly diva cope with the memories of her acting career and Hollywood dreams? This relative stranger is about to turn their lives upside down.
Venue: Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Canberra
FESTIVAL DATES & VENUES:
Sydney: March 26 to April 10, Chauvel Cinema & Palace Norton Street
Melbourne: March 27 to April 11, Palace Cinema Como & Kino Cinemas
Brisbane: March 28 to April 3, Palace Centro
Canberra: April 1 to April 6, Palace Electric Cinema
For more information visit the official Audi German Film Festival site here.
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