Lola + Bilidikid

Don't get me wrong, I liked Lola + Bilidikid. But I think it could have been a lot better. I find that the movie is not always very convincing. Yes, you're troubled and disturbed by the movie but you're left with a sour taste. What I liked the most was the way that the movie shows the daily life of the gay culture in Berlin and the difficult integration of the immigrants in the modern Germany.

7 out of 10.

This film accomplishes what it sets out to do, and it does so in a beautiful way. Not everyone can know what it feels like to be Turkish in Germany, and this movie communicates that feeling without sacrificing the feeling of being within the lives of the people it's about. Why do so few films achieve this?

Within its specificity, you also discover its universality. How many immigrants of color (from all over the world) in white-dominated countries (all over the world) will see something of themselves in this film? This film has the feel of a classic.

I know some people may feel the film is too depressing, or too dependent on gratuitous violence and on queer stereotypes that many of us may want to push into the past. Maybe we can reflect on the possibility that the stereotypes we may want to avoid aren't really a thing of the past, and the depression and violence the film refers to is quite real and current.

I was disappointed in this film after reading the other comments here and thought I should add my own.

This movie may be an accurate depiction of what life in Berlin for gay Turks is like but it is on the whole a depressing movie. Perhaps Germany is still at this point, but this movie has many of the overtones of the self loathing gay movies that were prevalent in this country in the 50's and 60's. Others have said that there are touches of West Side Story and Rebel Without a Cause about this movie but those weren't exactly feel good movies either.

A few more moments spent on the nascent relationship between Murat and the waif-like German boy that he meets could have made all the difference.

Ah well… I've always been a romantic.

Love, death, hatred, romance, fierce drag queens, coming out stories, underground club scenes... You'll smile, laugh and cry during this beautiful movie set in the Turkish Ghetto in Berlin.

Lola Und Bilidikid is a great success in terms of cinematography and storytelling; and dealing a little more with the friendship/relationship of Murat and the German boy, it could have very well been a masterpiece.

There's enough trouble between the Turks, at least the ultra-traditional Turks, and Germans in Germany. And watching this movie, you see how it gets a million times worse when one or more of the parties involved belong to an extraordinary walk of life in addition to being sided.

In fact this movie features quite a few stories at once, but doesn't lose the viewer since they're all related in some way, or the director has successfully managed to make them somehow related without losing out the plot. All the relationships, especially the one between Murat and his revolting brother Osman, and the one between the German gay guy and Iskender, are really well put. And the tiniest detail on the movie isn't missed. Even the little scene with the hooker is well done.

If you're a Hollywood enthusiast, leave this movie aside. You'll think it's sick and boring. But if you like good movies made with some feelings and culture rather than expensive effects, and those dealing with tender social issues, then you'll absolutely love it! It's only for those who can take heavy stuff, and have a good taste on cinema.

9/10 for Lola Und Bilidikid.