Berlin Alexanderplatz (2020 film)

Berlin Alexanderplatz is a 2020 German-Dutch drama film directed by Burhan Qurbani. It was selected to compete for the Golden Bear in the main competition section at the 70th Berlin International Film Festival.[1][2] An adaptation of Alfred Döblin's influential 1929 novel Berlin Alexanderplatz, the film transposes the story to the modern day with an undocumented immigrant from West Africa in the central role.[3][4]

Berlin Alexanderplatz
Film poster
Directed byBurhan Qurbani
Produced by
  • Leif Alexis
  • Jochen Laube
  • Fabian Maubach
Written by
  • Burhan Qurbani
  • Martin Behnke
Based onBerlin Alexanderplatz by Alfred Döblin
Starring
Narrated byJella Haase
Music byDascha Dauenhauer
CinematographyYoshi Heimrath
Edited byPhilipp Thomas
Distributed byEntertainment One
Release date
  • 26 February 2020 (2020-02-26) (Berlin)
Running time
183 minutes
CountryGermany
Netherlands
LanguageGerman

Cast
  • Welket Bungué as Francis/Franz, an illegal immigrant from Guinea-Bissau, who wants to start a better life in Germany.
  • Jella Haase as Mieze, a prostitute and love-interest of Francis, who is also the narrator of the film
  • Albrecht Schuch as Reinhold, a criminal drug dealer
  • Joachim Król as Pums
  • Annabelle Mandeng as Eva
  • Nils Verkooijen as Berta
  • Richard Fouofié Djimeli as Ottu
  • Thelma Buabeng as Amira
  • Faris Saleh as Masud
  • Lena Schmidtke as Elli

Reception

Jessica Kiang for Variety detects some flaws in this update of Alfred Döblin's classic novel of masculine criminal crisis: ″Although promising a deep-cut dash of contemporary topicality by reimagining the main character as an undocumented African immigrant, there is the sense that the unimpeachable craft and performances — especially from rivetingly charismatic lead Welket Bungué — ultimately add up to just too slick a package. (...) For a film that is supposed to be a contemporary update, it can feel — especially in its ill-fated female characters, who are almost all either sex workers or one-night stands of Reinhold's — weirdly out of date. “Men like me have gone out of fashion,” says Pums at one point, and it will take more than a snazzy new set of clothes to complete the overhaul that Qurbani bravely, handsomely, but a little foolhardily attempts."[5]

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gollark: ++remind 4h-3m yes
gollark: I think most of the commercial stuff for this just works at the DNS level however.

See also

References
  1. "The 70th Berlinale Competition and Further Films to Complete the Berlinale Special". Berlinale. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
  2. "Berlin Competition Lineup Revealed: Sally Potter, Kelly Reichardt, Eliza Hittman, Abel Ferrara". Variety. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
  3. Bénédicte Prot, "Burhan Qurbani readies Berlin Alexanderplatz for an April release". Cineuropa, 10 September 2018.
  4. "Berlin Alexanderplatz". www.berlinale.de. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  5. Kiang, Jessica (26 February 2020). "'Berlin Alexanderplatz': Film Review". Variety. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
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