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Parlement (2020)
Satire with a heart
I just binged this in 2 sessions over the weekend. I found "Parlement" entertaining, informative and I kept wanting to see more, despite the fact that it's a mix of languages and I had to rely on subtitles for most of it.
"Parlement" is a satire about the workings of the European Parliament, the bureaucrats, the lobbyists, the MEPs and their staff. As in any good satire, it's over the top and exaggerated, but with the truth at its core, thus pointing out the many flaws that the systems has, but also why it is good that we have institutions like the EU and its Parliament, despite their many flaws.
It also makes fun of the various stereotypes of the people living in the EU, mostly the Germans and the British, I would have wished for a little more self-criticism of the French in this French production.
This series is obviously aimed at people who are interested in the European Union and it's probably hard to follow if you don't know at least the basics of how things work there.
If you understand German, I recommend that you first watch Democracy - Im Rausch der Daten.
Une île (2019)
A different kind of Mermaid
Summary and *spoiler start*
Once upon a time there lived a tribe ob mermaids on an island off the French coast. And that's where the fairy tale ends. Human settlers came and drove them away to a remote corner, eventually killing all of them, or so they thougt and the humans forgot all about them.
Today there is a series of mysterious deaths, mostly fishermen who illegally dumped oil or chemicals into the sea. As it turns out, one mermaid has survived and she's behind it. Not only can she breathe under water as well as on land, she also has the ability to enchant men and to suck the life out of them. She also heals super fast while in water. She#s taking revenge on those men that pollute her habitat.
Then there is Chloé, a young, very shy woman who has only one real friend. When one of the men from the island tries to rape her, he falls into a coma, nobody knows why. With the help of Théa, the murderous mermaid, she begins to discover that she is a mermaid herself.
Meanwhile, some humans try to hunt down first Théa and later Chloé as well, some to stop the murders, some because they hate everything alien. Towards the end, there is a showdown with multiple deaths and a not entirely happy ending.
*Spoiler end*
This series is about mermaids, but it's not for children. There is some nudity, sex scenes and quite a bit of violence. It also addresses social issues, like the decline of the fishing industry and the resulting lack of future and hope for the inhabitants of the island.
It's a mystery tale, the truth gets revealed slowly, some things are not quite logical (e.g. you occasionally ask yourself why the mermaid doesn't use her special powers in certain situations), but all in all it's a thrilling tale with solid to excellent acting from most of the actors.
I can recommend it.
Psychobitch (2019)
Unusual teen romance
Marius is a good boy. He's good in school, he always does what he's told and what's expected of him. We as the audience are never exactly told if he's happy with that, but we suspect that he's not.
In comes Frida, the new girl in school who, rumour has it, had tried to commit suicide. She's the exact opposite, she never does what she's told and shows some very rude behaviour.
For a class project, a techer asks Marius to team up with Frida and although he's not thrilled, he can't say no., so he awkwardly tries to engage with Frida. Being strong-willed, Frida plays with Marius and makes him do things that are completely against his nature, even things that are forbidden.
Not to spoil anything, you can guess that a teen romance eventlually leads to them falling in love, not without complications like the girl Marius used to date before he met Frida.
The core message of the movie is that our society wishes for children to be like Marius, but in order to be happy they need to develop their own character and do what makes them happy, even if it doesn't always make their parents happy.
My main criticism is that both the characters of Marius and Frida were too extreme to be entirely credible, Marius too boring and Frida too impulsive, but I guess the director wanted it this way to drive home the "opposites attract" thing.
My teenager days are long gone, but still I found the movie entertaining, the acting was solid and while I wouldn't pay to see it in a cinema, the time watching it on tv was not wasted. Of course the movie is aimed at teenagers and parents with teenage children.
Maria Theresia (2017)
Just another historic drama
First of all, this movie is not historically accurate, e.g. the real Karl VI. died from either mushroom poisoning or an unknown disease, in the movie he had a hunting accident. If you want to learn about history, better watch a documentary or read a book.
This movie concentrates on the person of Maria Theresia, her personal experiences and her feelings.
It is not easy to judge the mnovie as a drama. The story largely follows historic events, so there is little room for surprises or interesting side-plots.
At the time, people at the court had to act stiff which didn't leave much room for the actors to show their skills. Whenever possible, they did a decent job.
Summary: Not a must see for those interested in the history or those who want to see a good drama, but it's not too bad either. Watch it when you are bored and there is nothing better on.
Ad Vitam (2018)
Something to think about
Disclaimer: I watched the German dubbed version, so some things might have gotten lost in translation.
1. Brief summary:
Mankind has invented a device that rejuvenates you to the age of about 30-40. There are some people who are genetically not able to undergo the procedure and there are some who don't want to do it, the others can theoretically live forever. A group of minors (now everyone under the age of 30 is a minor) commits suicide. A police officer tries to get the help of the only survivor of a previous mass suicide to find out why they did it and how to prevent similar incidents in the future.
2. The setting.
This series is set several decades in the future, but the technology is the same as 2018, except that cars now have an extra headlight on the hood and, of course, the devices that rejuvenate.
That's not logical, but perhaps neccessary to concentrate on the changes to society that were brought by that one invention. The series raises several interesting questions, like how long would you stay in the same job or in the same relationship, should birth control be mandatory to prevent overpopulation or how would you react if the good looking brunette you chatted up in the disco turns out to be over 90 years old. This is the best part of the series, it makes you think how longevity will affect society.
3. The plot.
It starts as a detective story, it has some unexpected twists that keep it interesting, but eventually things get confusing and I was asking myself why people were doing what they were doing.
4. Summary.
The acting was solid, the plot was not. I would recommend this series to those who like 'what ifs' like 'what if I was forever young?' and who like to think and who like to philosophize. Get some friends or family to watch it as well so you can talk about it. If you are looking for simple entertainment, this series is not for you.
Kommissarin Heller (2014)
Not very realistic, but entertaining
Winnie Heller is an unusual detective, she has psychological issues, probably some sort of autism, she sees things others don't, but she doesn't get along well with other humans, especially her colleagues and she keeps breaking the rules.
I doubt that someone like her could really make a career in the German police, that's why I think this series is not very realistic, but if you put that aside, this series is very entertaining, the cases are solved in a clever way and I'm really looking forward to the next installment.
Babylon Berlin (2017)
Review with some background information
Babylon Berlin is based on the novel "Der nasse Fisch" by Volker Kutscher, but the production changed the story and the characters quite a bit, so much so that I wonder if further seasons can still be based on Kutscher's books.
Since I had read the books not too long before watching the series, I got confused because of those differences, mixing up the images in my head and on screen, so make sure to leave some time between reading and watching.
I can really recommend the books, they are well reasearched, they are historically accurate and give many nice details about the Berlin of that period.
I'm not expert enough to say if the changes and additions made in the series are still as accurate, but the production team consulted a historian while producing it.
Babylon Berlin is the most expensive German production so far and you can see it. Where cheaper productions have to go with 3-4 takes to get it done, here each scene was shot until the director was finally satisfied (I was an extra in this series, so I know).
Productions of such magnitude were not new to the team, many "Hollywood" movies and US series were shot entirely or in part in Berlin and Studio Babelsberg, so they had an experienced crew, headed by Tom Tykwer.
So is it any good? I'm not quite neutral, since I was there on set, and I dislike it when a good book gets altered too much in filming, but the images alone are worth it, you can see the extra money spent, so give it a try!
Edit: Review of season 3 (which is based on book #2 by Kutscher).
Again I was there as an extra and got a look behind the scenes. I couldn't find any numbers, but I had the impression that this season was done on a smaller budget than the first two, e.g. we didn't take quite as many shots on the same scene and seemed to be more in a hurry. Still, the sets, the costumes and some other things that cost money were already there and build upon. After watching the series on TV, I didn't really notice much of a difference when it comes to production value.
In this season, Gereon and Charlotte are undergoing some changes, thus becoming more like the characters from the books, to me these changes make them more amiable. Also, the plot follows the one from the book more closely than the first 2 seasons did, but there is still an entirely new sub plot.
Basically, if you liked the first 2 seasons, you will also like the third. It's a bit less glamorous, instead we get more detective story parts and you won't get as many history lessons, but you will get to see how movies were made 90 years ago. One of the great things is that the scenes that play at the Babelsberg Film Studios were actually shot there, they have survived a war, the GDR and the changes that came with the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Democracy: Im Rausch der Daten (2015)
How the EU works
Decisionmaking in the EU is a complicated process. The Commission prepares a proposal, the Parliament and and the Council have to agree to it. If they don't, they can make changes, until both can agree. This documentary shows how it worked for the data protection directive, focusing on the Parliament, it shows the difficulty of finding a compromise, lobbyists trying to get their interests to be included in the directive and the "hero" of the story, a member of parliament trying to coordinate all this and come up with a proposal that will get a majority.
Watching this will help you understand how the EU works, 89 minutes well spent.
A Road (2015)
First Work of Film Student
I watched this film at the Berlinale Film Festival. Daichi Sugimoto was present and gave us some additional insights. As of now, he is still a film student. He had an assignment from his university to produce a short film about who he was, since he had enough material it became an 85-minute feature film. Sugimoto had to earn extra money to realize this project, but it was still on a tight budget. Daichi Sugimoto wrote the script, directed and played the leading role, other "actors" apparently were mostly his friends and family. Accordingly, you cannot expect great acting and technical perfection. As it was, friends and family did an O.K. job. Camera work was pretty good.
*Spoiler start - what is it about?* In the beginning Sugimoto is struggling to pass the tests so he can join an art university where he wants to study film. (I still don't know how he passed his English test though, since he needed an interpreter at the Berlinale to tell something about his film and to answer questions from the audience.) Apparently he had failed the entry exam at least once before. He has lost contact with his friends from school who either are already at a university or who are not pursuing a career. For those who don't know Japan: Those entry exams are the most important and the most difficult steps on the way to a career in Japan, attending the right university is more important than getting good grades there, so students literally learn day and night and neglect their friends and hobbies while preparing for those entry exams. So we start with no friends, no hobbies. During the movie, Sugimoto meets some of his old friends and after entering art university makes new ones. For the assignment I mentioned earlier, he starts asking himself who he really is and starts exploring his past. He realizes that the thing he liked best in his whole life was catching lizards as a child, so he invites his friends to go with him on a lizard hunt where they apparently have a great time. *Spoiler end*
So what is it about? Growing up, changes in life and some things staying the same.
Should you watch it? Well, it's a low budget student's film, so don't expect a Hollywood blockbuster. For a first, it's pretty good, but not brilliant.
Mizu no koe wo kiku (2014)
somewhat entertaining, but lacking a message
*spoiler start* This movie is about Minjon, a young woman whose grandparents immigrated from Jeju/Korea. She is the priestess of a fake religion, the aim of which is to make money with. In the course of the movie, she starts to develop a conscience and an interest in her grandmother, who was a shaman back in Korea, which eventually leads to a clash with the other members of her "religion". And since her father owes money to the Yakuza, things become even more complicated. *spoiler end*
I saw this movie at the Berlinale Film Festival. After the viewing writer and director Yamamoto, Hyunri and Jun Murakami answered some of the audience's questions. Obviously I wasn't the only one who was missing the point of the movie, what it is all about. Asked, Yamamoto didn't want to say too much about it, everyone should interpret the movie as he liked. We also learned that the Korean setting was only added after he had cast Hyunri, who has a Korean background, as Minjon. Yamamoto delivers some nice pictures, e.g. of the religious ceremonies in the wilds, some rather disturbing pictures (there is some blood and violence) and a story that at some points seems rather far fetched. I felt somewhat entertained, the movie never really got boring, but I believe that the setting with the phony religion and the Jeju background would have offered more opportunities to put together a really meaningful film.
Young Sherlock Holmes (1985)
Rame Tep
I watched this movie as a youth back in the 80ies and all but forgot about it, except for the music. The Rame Tep chant is a haunting piece of music and over the years it kept popping back into my head, so today I decided to watch the whole movie again. The plot and the acting are O.K., not great, the special effects are pretty good considering when the film was made - of course you can't compare it to high-budget productions that were made more than 2 decades later as some other user did. All in all good entertainment for teenagers (and those who were teenagers back then when the film was made). 6 stars, plus another 2 for the music.