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kahlenberg
Reviews
The Postman (1997)
Getting more and more relevant every day
This is a great movie. Not only does it have a solid script, solid direction and solid acting, it even has the potential to still surprise you after several viewings, which is a pretty rare thing among big budget flicks.
What I like so much about this movie is that it has so many symbols in it that become more and more relevant to the world we in live in as time progresses.
The post-apocalyptic setting is very well though out: Some neat gadgets from civilization are still around (zippos, uniforms, guitars), yet as a viewer you get a sense for how much things are missing now that people formerly considered to be standard (communication, social networking, visions for the future). They never missed it till it really was gone forever.
The postman, while starting off by just pretending to be a postman, quickly becomes a symbol of hope for the struggling survivors, as he presents them a way to regain what seemed to be lost: a way to unify in order to fight the terror that reigns their world in the form of General Bethlehem.
This unification can only happen because people manage to organize some form of communication again. The whole movie could be seen as a wise and modern illustration of the good old saying that "the feather can be mightier than the sword".
Living in a world where playing with the option of nuclear holocaust becomes more fashionable than ever, you can't but feel haunted by one of the films central dialogue lines: "Terror will defeat reason."
Go watch it... Again!
Didi - Der Doppelgänger (1984)
One of the funniest German movies ever made
Now this is the movie you would like to watch if you're interested in what German comedy movies are all about. The fine thing about this movie from the 80s is that it works on two levels. First you can watch it as a slapstick comedy and you will greatly enjoy Didi Hallervordens very own way of messing up offices and business meetings. But the movie is also a very clever piece of satire about business managers and their way of talking and behaving. That's the reason why I loved this movie as a kid and I'm enjoying it even more when I watch it now. Obviously Dieter Hallervorden had a great time making this movie. His acting is simply superb, both as clumsy barkeeper Bruno Koob and as the cold and cynical businessman Hans Immer. The script is one of the funniest in German movie history and the story (taking a lot of surprising turns) manages to keep suspense at a high level throughout the whole movie. You won't meet a single German that grew up in the 80s who can't quote some lines from this German movie classic.