Ich Chef, Du Turnschuh

An award for director Kutlucan and plenty of laughs of the German audience at the festivals, but I can not agree.

Kutlucan tries to tell something about (the treatment of) illegal immigrants and the survival of one in Germany, using a comedy formula. But his directions fails as this comedy is as tiring, noisy (everybody speaks very LOUD) and badly timed as the average German farce, of which he must have seen a lot before making his own. The film is never a unity; most scenes do not lead to anything, while quite a number of scenes finish seconds too late leaving a meaningless image; the film rambles on and on. The lead character is uninteresting and cliche; most others are one-dimensional at the most. All this and only average, sometimes poor acting and an irritatingly on the spree cinematography add up to boring viewing.

Technically, the film has plenty to sneer at, if that's what you like to focus on. But the story, even with it's own weaknesses, is engaging, with various twists and some quite moving and thought-provoking situations.

This wasn't a laugh-out-loud comedy for me, but there were some very funny situations and an overall adventurous spirit to the film that were quite rewarding.

The issues raised in the film are particularly pressing ones today - but as the film itself portrays, there will be some who simply would not be interested in dealing with such issues, or such people. But the film is so accessible, that for everyone else, there are plenty of touching or funny moments. It would be a pity to miss the opportunity of reflecting on the deeper messages and issues by focusing on the superficial imperfections of the film, which in some ways, actually add to the overall atmosphere of the film. They reflect the sense of doing the best with what you can muster.

The end product, I believe, is certainly worth watching. Actually, with the rather abrupt ending, it would be fascinating to see a sequel...