Le défi

This movie by German director Doris Dörrie is very weak. It's mainly the dialogue (the cinematography is as always with Ms Dörrie very good), but these people seem to live in a parallel universe which has nothing to do with any real human being living in Germany. It seems to portray some kind of Munich high society which German filmmakers love (f.ex. Rossini) but who no one else in Germany really cares about. Besides I doubt that it exists in the way they like to portray it. So what's the point then? What's the point... Good question which could sum up the experience one has by seeing this movie which is not good nor bad. And this is the worst kind of movie... A bad movie at least leaves the pleasure to make sarcastic comments... This one here... nothing...

Nackt is the story of three couples, one of which just broke up, one that seems to be about to and one perfectly okay. They are all friends and from time to time they gather to talk about everything.

One time they gather for dinner at the second couple's "mansion" - the husband became rich with his business. We see each couple as they prepare themselves for the party and learn a lot about their relationships.

At the dinner they get to talking about recognizing each other's peer with closed eyes and decide to try it (thus the title "Nackt"=naked in German). Nothing more to be spoiled by me. Watch it.

We get really deep into the relationships of these young couples, their love, their problems and the way they try to overcome them. The movie got us thinking and probably will get you as it doesn't stick to the surface but lets its characters talk about every minor detail.

The actors are quite famous in Germany and deliver a good performance. I give it 8 out of 10.

I really recommend this one to everyone!

If you have ever thought that you don't understand women and felt misunderstood by them you will quickly notice that this movie is exactly about this. (and vice-versa...)

Camera operator should get an Oscar! Great movie!

I was very impressed by the quality of the dialogues in this movie: very fresh, very deep, very intelligent. The movie is based on a play (the title is "Happy") written also by the director of the movie and this theatrical origin is very obvious and... enjoyable. I really recommend this movie to anyone interested in topics like the emptiness and disorientation of the X-geneneration (Y-generation and so on), urban love stories, conflict of genders, and, above all, human feelings and reactions. Nice movie indeed. IKEA fans and other modernity-addicts should watch it as well.

Doris Doerrie is one of those directors who leave no traces on my consciousness: when I see one of her films, I start forgetting it right away. I know I saw Men..., Happy Birthday!, Nobody Loves Me, yet I can't for the life of me remember the plots. She is far more interested in sociological analysis than in story-telling, so her stories are as flimsy as those of Godard.

Having said this, I must also say that the actors in Naked are very talented and they kept me watching this very silly story to the end. Alexandra Maria Lara is so promising; she's as impressive here as she was as Hitler's secretary in The Downfall. Her character, and Juergen Vogel's, are allowed to develop over the course of the film--we see they have stamina as a couple. Heike Makatsch, who started in TV as a VJ, showed some acting ability I didn't expect from her. Nina Hoss and Mehmet Kurtulus as the rich couple, got some acid into their performances.