A Piffl Medien release of a Herbstfilm Prod. production, in association with NDR, Arte. (International sales: the Match Factory, Cologne, Germany.) Produced by Dirk Wilutzky, Verena Rahmig. Idea, Eric Friedler.
Inspired by the 1978 compilation pic "Germany in Autumn," but overall not blazing with the same kind of political conviction, "Germany 09: 13 Short Films About the State of the Nation" hits targets both obvious and not, but could equally be titled "13 Short Films Reflecting the State of German Auteur Filmmaking." On balance, it's the better-known names that deliver, both amusingly and artily. Shorn to 80 minutes and seven segs, this could make a sparky item for fests and Euro webs. The original 2½ -hour version is set for local release March 26.
The most entertaining items, helmed like mini-features, are Dani Levy's inventive fantasy "Joshua"; Tom Tykwer's slick "Feierlich Travels," a parody of globalized life through the eyes of a stressed-out, jet-setting exec (Benno Fuermann); and Swiss-born Hans Steinbichler's "Fraktur," with a conservative Bavarian (mordantly funny Josef Bierbichler) taking angry revenge on his favorite newspaper when it abandons its traditional Gothic typeface.
Levy's laugh-out-loud seg continues the taboo-busting comedy of his recent features, "Go for Zucker!" and "My Fuehrer," with the Swiss-born helmer himself playing a depressive documaker whose view of Germany suddenly turns positive after his shrink gives him a magic potion. Soon, even his own son, Joshua, is flying through the air -- and hailed as the republic's savior.
Several items, including "Being Murat Kurnaz," Fatih Akin's reconstruction of a famous 2008 interview of a Guantanamo Bay detainee, are too local to travel. Biggest disappointment is "Sick House" by Wolfgang Becker ("Good Bye Lenin!"), a messy, lugubrious satire on national freefall set in a chaotic German hospital.Providing considerable food for thought is Dominik Graf's "The Road We Don't Walk Together," a brief, poetic essay (shot on old Super 8) about the "architectural euthanasia" that has overtaken Germany since reunification.
Other exportable segs are Nicolette Krebitz's inventive "The Unfinished," an imagined meeting between cultural-political icons Susan Sontag (Jasmin Tabatabai) and Ulrike Meinhof (Sandra Hueller); Romuald Karmakar's "Ramses," a slyly witty interview with an Iranian sex-bar owner in west Berlin; and the chilling, fact-based "Preventive Action," by Austrian-born Hans Weingartner, which equates contempo state surveillance with the climate of fear previously created by East Germany's secret police, the Stasi.
Tech package, using various formats and screen ratios, is fine.
Camera (color, DV, various aspect ratios). Reviewed at Berlin Film Festival (noncompeting), Feb. 13, 2009. Running time: 151 MIN.
FIRST DAY
Directed, written by Angela Schanelec. Camera, Reinhold Vorschneider; editor, Mathilde Bonnefoy; art director, Ulrika von Vegesack. Original title: Erster Tag.
With: Nina Monka.
JOSHUA
Directed, written by Dani Levy. Camera, Carl-Friedrich Koschnick, Kai Rostasy; editor, Anne Juenemann; music, Niki Reiser; art director, Ulrika von Vegesack; costume designer, Lucie Bates.
With: Dani Levy, Joshua Levy, Hans Hollmann.
BEING MURAT KURNAZ
Directed, written by Fatih Akin. Camera, Rainer Klausmann; editor, Andrew Bird; art director, Tamo Kunz; costume designer, Katrin Aschendorf. Original title: Der Name Murat Kurnaz.
With: Denis Moschitto, Kai Strittmatter.
THE UNFINISHED
Directed, written by Nicolette Krebitz. Camera, Patrick Orth; editor, Bettina Boehler; art directors, Christel Rehm, Sylvester Koziolek; costume designer, Anette Guther. Original title: Die Unvollendete.
With: Helene Hegemann, Sandra Hueller, Jasmin Tabatabai.
BIAS
Directed, written by Sylke Enders. Camera, Inigo Westmeier; editor, Dietmar Kraus; music, Bert Wrede; art director, Kerstin Eichner; costume designer, Claudia Gonzalez Espindola. Original title: Schieflage.
With: Dennis Grawe, Karl Markovics, Anneke Kim Sarnau, Winnie Boewe, Bernd Birkhan.
THE ROAD WE DON'T WALK TOGETHER
Directed, written by Dominik Graf. Camera, Martin Gressmann; editor, Katja Dringenberg. Original title: Der Weg, den wir nicht zusammen gehen.
Voices: Dominik Graf, Jeanette Hain, Florian Krueger-Shantin, Klaus Sakelarides, Reynold Reynolds.
FRAKTUR
Directed, written by Hans Steinbichler. Camera, Bella Halben; editor, Niko Brinkmann; art director, Eva Maria Stiebler; costume designer, Katharina Ost.
With: Josef Bierbichler, Tim Seyfi, Adriana Altaras.
A DEMOCRATIC DISCUSSION AT DESIGNATED TIMES
Directed, written by Isabelle Stever. Camera, Rali Raltchev; editor, Oliver Neumann. Original title: Eine demokratische Gespraechsrunde zu festgelegten Zeiten.
With: Johanna Nagel.
PREVENTIVE ACTION
Directed, written by Hans Weingartner. Camera, Bernadette Paassen; editor, Dirk Oetelshoven; art director, Sebastian Wurm; costume designer, Charlotte Sawatzki. Original title: Gefaehrder.
With: Christoph Jacobi, Claudia Geisler, Justus Carriere, Uwe Bohm, Helene Grass.
FEIERLICH TRAVELS
Directed, written by Tom Tykwer. Camera, Frank Griebe; editor, Mathilde Bonnefoy; music, Tykwer, Johnny Klimek, Reinhold Heil; art director, Thorsten Sabel; costume designer, Polly Matthies. Feierlich reist.
With: Benno Fuermann, Eva Habermann.
RAMSES
Directed, written by Romuald Karmakar. Camera, Frank Griebe; editors, Karmakar, Johannes Weuthen.
With: Mahmoud Rahimzadiany.
SICK HOUSE
Directed by Wolfgang Becker. Screenplay, Becker, Jan-Ole Gerster. Camera, Juergen Juerges; editor, Peter R. Adam; music, Christian Steyer; art director, Ulrika von Vegesack; costume designer, Monika Jacobs. Original title: Krankes Haus.
With: Peter Jordan, Andreas Hofer, Andreja Schneider, Alexander Khuon, Arnd Klawitter, Edeltraud Schubert, Susanne Wuest.
SEANCE
Directed, written by Christoph Hochhaeusler. Camera, Bernhard Keller; editor, Anja Conrad; music, Benedikt Schiefer; art director, Beatrice Schultz.
Voice: Hans-Michael Rehberg.
Contact Derek Elley at
derek.elley@variety.com