Berlin Alexanderplatz

Berlin Alexanderplatz is beautifully directed and it doesn't make you feel distracted from the story considering its 3 hour length. On the other hand this film doesn't necessarily offer anything new or surprising to the viewer so I'd suggest keeping the expectations not so high.

This film had everything to work. It's loosely based on a good novel, the initial premise sounds good, a refugee looking for redemption is corrupted by his environment in Berlin, the cinematography is amazing (not often the case in German cinema), editing is good, I loved the sets too. Regarding the acting, there were some great moments but it looked inconsistent, in the end I believe the actors did a great job with the poor screenplay provided to them. The story just doesn't work. The relationships between characters are not credibel, they are born out of nowhere, out of nothing, there is no tension there, there is no development in those relationships and it made me not understand nor care about them (all the relationships of the main character, they make no sense to me). Also that villain, it was actually a well written psycopath, but at some point I bet someone fell in love with the cool character they were writing and he started taking way too much space on the story. In the end it's almost a good movie, but it doesn't really reach that level.

The story follows the rise and fall of Francis (Welket Bungué), a refugee who tries to be a good man while earning a living in a wealthy country suppressing the options to do so. He is soon approached by a drug dealer (Albrecht Schuch) offering what seems to be a way out of his misery. Thus, the tragedy unfolds. Burhan Qurbani's handwriting as a director has significantly improved over the course of his now three feature-length films. And now he has delivered a masterpiece. The film manages to combine elements of hyper-realism with poetic moments, strengthening each other's impact. The music is sometimes subtle, sometimes loud, and always on point. The actors' delivery is gripping and powerful. The story itself is an adaptation of Döblin's masterpiece novel of the same name. It is fittingly transferred into current day Berlin, and - while staying true to the novel's intent - it is told in a far more concise manner to suit its format. I actually hate movies longer than 100 minutes, but due to its separation into 5 chapters Qurbani somehow managed to not annoy or bore me for a second.

Cinematography, art direction and costumes are setting the stage for a few great actors like Albrecht Schuch and Joachim Krol who all sadly fail to bring a flawed script to greatness in this artistic effort. One star each for the above mentioned.

Amazing job of bringing this 1920s story into 2020 to depict modern conflicts which, after all, are not so different from 100 years ago. Very well directed and beautifully shot to portray underground life and its unusual relationships. Maybe a nuance too long but great to watch. Impressingly well played by the Reinhold character.