Oh Boy (2012)
(A Coffee in Berlin)
Country: GER
Technical: bw 83m
Director: Jan Ole Gerster
Cast: Tom Schilling, Marc Hosemann, Friederike Kempter
Synopsis:
A day in the life of a student drop-out, caught at a crossroads in his life, as he is denied a renewal of his driving licence, is frozen out of his bank account by his father and meets an old school friend turned actress.
Review:
Cross Wim Wenders with Scorsese's After Hours and you come close to the spirit of this gently sardonic take on the paralysis of youth, in an age when everyone surely knows where they are going. The acting is first-rate, the black and white cinematography crystalline wintry, and the pervading air of cruelly ironic humour at the hapless hero's expense is neatly symbolised by his repeated failure to secure a cup of coffee. A scene towards the end with a survivor of the war causes one to suspect whether Niko is meant to be taken as an emblem for modern Germany itself, re-assessing itself in the light of mounting debts and a tortured past.
(A Coffee in Berlin)
Country: GER
Technical: bw 83m
Director: Jan Ole Gerster
Cast: Tom Schilling, Marc Hosemann, Friederike Kempter
Synopsis:
A day in the life of a student drop-out, caught at a crossroads in his life, as he is denied a renewal of his driving licence, is frozen out of his bank account by his father and meets an old school friend turned actress.
Review:
Cross Wim Wenders with Scorsese's After Hours and you come close to the spirit of this gently sardonic take on the paralysis of youth, in an age when everyone surely knows where they are going. The acting is first-rate, the black and white cinematography crystalline wintry, and the pervading air of cruelly ironic humour at the hapless hero's expense is neatly symbolised by his repeated failure to secure a cup of coffee. A scene towards the end with a survivor of the war causes one to suspect whether Niko is meant to be taken as an emblem for modern Germany itself, re-assessing itself in the light of mounting debts and a tortured past.
(A Coffee in Berlin)
Country: GER
Technical: bw 83m
Director: Jan Ole Gerster
Cast: Tom Schilling, Marc Hosemann, Friederike Kempter
Synopsis:
A day in the life of a student drop-out, caught at a crossroads in his life, as he is denied a renewal of his driving licence, is frozen out of his bank account by his father and meets an old school friend turned actress.
Review:
Cross Wim Wenders with Scorsese's After Hours and you come close to the spirit of this gently sardonic take on the paralysis of youth, in an age when everyone surely knows where they are going. The acting is first-rate, the black and white cinematography crystalline wintry, and the pervading air of cruelly ironic humour at the hapless hero's expense is neatly symbolised by his repeated failure to secure a cup of coffee. A scene towards the end with a survivor of the war causes one to suspect whether Niko is meant to be taken as an emblem for modern Germany itself, re-assessing itself in the light of mounting debts and a tortured past.