Almanya: Willkommen in Deutschland

I'm a New Zealander living in Germany, my girlfriend is Turkish born of emigrant parents. We decided to see this movie after a recommendation from friends.

It was two hours of laughter and a few tears :) It manages to capture the spirit of Turkish emigrants in Germany, their traditional differences and the subtle humor within it. There were many gems of truth in this film that we were able to understand due to our own experiences in both cultures.

To sum it up : an uplifting funny film about heritage and intercultural family life.

Cheers, Capt Kiwi

To be fair: who says that migration-related films cannot be positive, but have to be bleak and ripe with social criticism à la 'Into this World'? The idea to portray the arrival and gradual integration of a Turkish family in Germany without a speck of racism or aggravation could appear almost bold, given that such a subject matter almost invariably descends into the abysses of social or moral decay. Yet 'Almanya' attempts to be an uplifting, encouraging comedy of sorts, and obviously intends to highlight the positive aspects of integration. Religious matters are completely obliterated, women's issues are gently brushed aside, the entire story revolves around a family so intact, so void of disintegration and serious conflict that it could very well substitute for a Turkish Trapp family, if there was more singing.

Being so picture-perfect, the family (and the film) can never shake a whiff of artifice and dullness. Given its inclusion in this year's Berlin competition, and a fairly wide release for a domestic film, one cannot help but wonder if this isn't a German propaganda effort promoting integration to lesser satisfied migrants: Look, this is how easy you could make it for yourselves in our golden land of opportunity. Perceived as such, 'Almanya' becomes almost enjoyable as a parody of sorts. But if you're interested in how things really are for migrants in Germany, you're better off with Faith Akin's 'Head-on' and 'Short Sharp Shock', or Özgür Yildirim's 'Chiko'.

"We called for manpower, and what arrived was human beings" (Max Frisch, German author). The film does a great job to transport this message, just by telling the heart-warming and utterly funny story of a Turkish family that came to Germany. At times the German language is represented by fake-German gibberish (like in Charlie Chaplin's "the great dictator"), which i found hilarious at times and it helped a lot to get an idea of what it feels like being thrown into a foreign culture without understanding a single word. I was beautifully entertained by this movie, i laughed a lot and also cried a bit. I (german) thought i had no prejudices against Turkish people, but i feel like i lost some today. German teacher's should show this movie in class, and their pupils would love it.

The movie plots on two opposite lines the story of Turk family on the way to Germany as foreign workers, and their way back to Turkey. The relationship between the Turkish guests and the German hosts are idealistically depicted - the Germans love their Turkish hard-workers (if things are so happy, why Turkey has been time and again declined from joining the European Union?), the Turkish family is completely modern - like a normal Westernized family : they react tolerantly to their young daughter who gets pregnant from a non-German guy (no word on the common and prevalent honor-killings among the Turks in Germany, no word on arranged marriage which is also the very common among Turks in Germany, etc.) I've been living many years in Germany, and the story this movie tells us is completely unconvincing.

As far as the artistic sides of the movie are concerned, it starts as a comedy and suddenly, with no seen reason, it turns into saccharine melodrama. The performance, the dialogs, the mimic and gestures reminded me of typical German TV commercials for Washing Powder, Yogurt, etc.

Heart-warming movie, who manages the balance between comedy and drama very well. It's a tribute to the first immigrants from Turkey to Germany and the difficulties they faced to adapt and built a life in a foreign environment and culture and how those facts forged the character of the third generation, their grandchildren.

The story is too familiar, i guess, to all the people of the southern countries that left them in the 60'ties to seek employment in the industries of the rich North: Germany, Belgium or even farther to the United States and Australia. At that time, the immigrants were needed, invited and welcome. One is tempted to compare to the current situation in Europe,who cannot support or welcome the todays immigrants anymore.

This film could have been easily a "heavy" one, but it avoids that trap. There is no deep analysis of the difficulties and the problems they dealt with there. Instead it has a light-hand, tender touch, dealing with both joy and sorrow, mourning and adaptation. It is as the young boy says at the end of the movie: "Life is the ups and downs". Music and bright color photography contribute in emphasizing that.

Very good direction, screenplay and excellent acting from all concerned. The little boy who is the last link in the family chain, the one for whom the story is told and who will in his turn re-tell it to his own descendants, is played by a very charismatic child actor, that will steal your heart.

Another great film from the Turkish film industry.