Mannheim-Heidelberg 2006

By Fatih Özgüven

Most of the films in the International Competition at the 55th Mannheim-Heidelberg Film Festival had a strong thematic preoccupation with the Europeans, both on the level of the stories of individuals and of more collective tales. Individual fates and adventures on the physical and emotional map of Europe were first and foremost reflected on female characters in search of themselves.

The German comedy Schroeder's Wonderful World (Schröders wunderbare Welt) was a contemplative fantasy about the proximity of borders, in this case Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic. Is it comfortable for EU-Europeans to be so close to each other? Not necessarily and not always, the film replied, especially when American money intervenes. Among the films which depicted social scenes or little societies by themselves the most inventive was Ines Rabadan's dreamlike Belhorizon from Belgium (actually filmed in Luxembourg), an exercise in class-conflict à la Luis Buñuel. One class (urban, well-to-do, refined city folk) visited another (rural people running a modest hotel) and seemed to have a mighty jolly time at the others' expense. But soon the tables were turned by a young peasant girl who knew nothing of the intricacies of the art of flirting. The film tried to point out that classes and the idea of class was still very much be alive in the heart of a unified Europe.

Fatih Özgüven

© FIPRESCI 2006

Fatih Özgüven (b. 1957) graduated from the English Language and Literature Department at Istanbul University. He is a well-known translator, essayist and film critic.

Ľródło: http://www.fipresci.org/festivals/archive/2006/mannheim/mannheim_fozguven.html

Inne recenzje:

"The absurd story is related through a series of static shots which allow the picture to breath, against the background of a joke that leaves the viewer grinning continually." (3Sat)
"The comedy...cries to the screen." (FAZ)
"Schroeder's wonderful World, too, provides the best of absurd entertainment with depth. It's easy to share the view of the festival team that Schorr is on the road to becoming "the German Kaurismaeki". (Mannheimer Morgen)
"The crazy Tropical Paradise is never going to happen. A sad-sweet parable from the Wild East." (Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung)
"The Blues sets the tone of this film as well" (Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung)

Ľródło: http://www.schroederswonderfulworld.com/

Mannheim Revisited

There is no doubt that the current International Filmfestival MANNHEIM-HEIDELBERG has capably regained its position as the second most significant cinema event in Germany, after the Berlinale. From 16th to 25th November, 2006 these lovely cities in Badem-Wurtemberg (a short drive from the vast Frankfurt airport) are home to an impeccably organised celebration of art-house cinema,which has reached its 55th edition with renewed vigour and a welcome sense of style. A legendary birthing event for numerous German -and international- fledgling directors, it was always a well respected, not memorably glamorous powerhouse for new and serious cinema.Some dozen years ago,the brilliant idea to expand the event to nearby Heidelberg, the Oxford of Germany and one of the loveliest,brainiest cities in Europe, encouraged a dynamic renovation of the structure and programming, and now ,under director Dr Michael Koetz ,it is clear that the festival enjoys the renewed support of audiences, sponsors, press and film-makers. There are nightly parties in the Stadhaus, a modern civic building housing a library and rooftop discotheque, which has a large auditorium ,numerous well-lit rooms (for the much enlarged Mannheim Meetings, where some 300 professionals are pitching projects or screening arthouse productions), cordial drink and food corners.,and a miniature podium for the regular post-film Talk Shows,which are conducted in English.Three other real cinemas elsewhere participate in Mannheim(with four screens) and a shuttle bus provides free transport to Heidelberg,where five screens are divided between three more art-houses.In a much improved International Competition ,there are some 20 new features(Macedonian star Labina Mitevska imports some glamour onto the Official Jury),almost as many in the International Discoveries section,with hommages to Krzysztof Kieslowski,whose first feature was prized in Mannheim in 1975, and to Alexander Sokhurov, who received the honour of "Master of Cinema" on the opening weekend.FIPRESCI and other parallel juries follow the films.The official opening film is a most beguiling German co- production , SCHROEDER`s WONDERFUL WORLD, the second film by Michael Schorr, which with its 3-land-setting and actors from Germany,Poland, and Czech Republic, splendidly mirrors the essential internationalism of this otherwise rather bourgeois city, which was laid out on a grid system some years before New York,I understand, with addresses within the Quadrat designed by a letter and a number.(The Odeon is found at G7,for example,though I didn´t find it yet).Sardonically set in the grey landscape of Silesia,the film amusingly chronicles the efforts of a would-be businessman to persuade an American billionaire(excellently played by LA-based German star Jurgen Prochnow)to invest in the region by funding an artifically-heated holiday complex.Full of offbeat comic incidents and self-mocking humour(poking fun at Poles,Czechs and Germans too,)the film is simply a delight-though one hopes that the many film-makers, milling in Mannheim , will see their own celluloid dreams take more solid form than Schroeder's.PHILLIP BERGSON

Źródło: http://www.fest21.com/en/comment/reply/1680

Europa Cinemas - Press Review - 21 July 2006

Traditionally, the comedies that did get made in Germany were low-brow slapstick and gag-driven romantic efforts. While many were boxoffice hits at home, the humor proved untranslatable.

By contrast, Good Bye, Lenin! sold almost worldwide, and in some cases, like France, broke boxoffice records for a German film in the territory. Recent German comedies such as Summer, Zucker and Schultze have found a similarly receptive audience abroad. (…)

The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 not only provided a rich new source of material, it also exposed West German filmmakers to East German comedies, many of which had never been seen outside the GDR.

"They had a big influence on me, more so than the West German comedies," says Levy. "There were a lot of great GDR comedies. They had this very dry, very laconic humor that I really love. It was often slightly ironic and often contained within it a hidden criticism of the system."

Dresen, who grew up in eastern Germany, sees a connection between the social-realism of films like Schultze and Summer in Berlin and the documentary tradition of the old GDR film schools. "For the first year-and-a-half of film school, we were forced to use documentary techniques exclusively," Dresen explains. "I hated it at the time, but it has really helped my work because I learned to first look to the reality on the street before going home and trying to create a world on the typewriter."

A willingness to confront reality, and not retreat into escapism, is a unifying theme among this new wave of German comedies. Many filmmakers use hand-held cameras to give the laughs a rougher, more authentic edge. (…)

Like any good comedian or filmmaker, Levy and company now want to see how far they can go. Schorr's next film, Schroeder's Wonderful World, is a no-holds-barred satire of German political breakdown. Mittermeier is working on an as-yet-untitled road-trip comedy that simulates a live on-camera execution.

And Levy is breaking the biggest taboo of them all with his upcoming Mein Fuehrer: The Really, Real Truth About Adolf Hitler. (…)

Source: TheHollywoodReporter.com, 20 June 2006, Scott Roxborough (Excerpts)

¬ródło: http://www.europa-cinemas.org/fr/news/documents/Europa_PR_21JULY_GB.pdf

Ostatnia zmiana:
kjaskulka @ sgsp edu pl
2007-02-15