Berlin Alexanderplatz (2020)
Genre: Drama
Duration: 183 minuten
Country:
Germany / Netherlands / France / Canada
Directed by: Burhan Qurbani
Stars: Welket Bungué, Jella Haase and Joachim Król
IMDb score:
6,9 (4.381)
Releasedate: 25 June 2020
Berlin Alexanderplatz plot
The story is about Francis, a refugee from Guinea-Bissau, who tries to live an honest life in Berlin. Due to his status as an illegal refugee, this is practically impossible. Francis falls into the hands of manipulator and drug dealer Reinhold. Francis turns into Franz, a ruthless criminal.
Reviews & comments
tbouwh
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- 5858 messages
- 5484 votes
[...] Qurbani (Wir Sind Jung. Wir Sind Stark., 2014) contrasts Francis's naive idealism so sharply with the suffocating reality that the latter fades increasingly over the course of the film. Berlin Alexanderplatz is an intoxicating anti-fairy tale, a dark allegory that uses religious figures to reinforce the characters' fate. Unfortunately, screenwriter Martin Behnke (who also worked on the hit series Dark) falls into the trap that every allegorical film would ideally try to avoid: if the references (in this case, including to the devil and the apocalyptic 'Whore of Babylon' from the Book of Revelation in the New Testament; Francis is also baptized 'Franz' in a Biblical manner) are too explicit, it can come at the expense of the dramatic impact. This is exactly what happens in Berlin Alexanderplatz: the protagonist's fate is held together too much by ideas spoken aloud, making the film feel rather hermetic and potentially restricting the viewer's experience and interpretation. It also doesn't help in this regard that the script is structured into five episodes, which further phase and underscore the fate. The peculiar epilogue strikes a discordant note and, in that sense, manages to intrigue but fails to convince.
Berlin Alexanderplatz - Cine (full)
Translated from Dutch · View original
Filmkriebel
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- 10288 messages
- 4817 votes
Modern version of a literary work from the time of the Weimar Republic. I haven't read it, and I have never seen Fassbinder's version either.
It has become a compelling yet somber drama, with strong acting performances from Bungué, Haase, and Schuch. An African migrant washed ashore in Europe tries to survive in the new society, but his friend Reinhold forces him to deal drugs and turns out to be a filthy scoundrel who uses and, above all, abuses people. Everyone warns him of this, not least his good friend Eva (a nightclub owner), but his gratitude towards Reinhold prevents him from breaking free from his grip. Never bite the hand that feeds you! And then he meets Mieze.
You see a depressing world surrounding Francis/Franz... consisting solely of prostitutes, drug dealers, and other criminal scum. It is this world that offers Francis a chance, but once you are in it, there is no escape. Not with noble feelings, at least... It doesn't get boring despite the three hours, although I find the statement that migrants have no future in Europe sounds just a little too loud.
Translated from Dutch · View original
mrklm
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- 12719 messages
- 10643 votes
An episodic, loose adaptation of Alfred Döblin's novel about an African refugee [Welket Bungué] who, upon arrival, wants to earn an honest living in construction. When he is fired for questionable reasons, he falls prey to an opportunistic dealer [Albrecht Schuch]. The latter introduces him to a world of sex, drugs, and money, but also to the extremely violent mores of gangster Poms [Joachim Król]. Amidst the sex and violence, a vague sense of a story and a subplot can be discerned, but this well-produced adaptation cannot match the earlier film adaptations from 1931 and 1980.
Translated from Dutch · View original
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