Berezina ou les derniers jours de la Suisse

A delightful film that had me smiling to myself for much of its running time. Who would have thought that the Swiss could take themselves so "unseriously". Made to look like a political thriller with all its intrigues and political power plays, at its heart, it's superb and hugely entertaining satire about the small Alpine Nation, its past, its values and its fears. The very first few minutes left me a bit confused and made me wonder whether this was another of those "weird" films where you never quite know what's really going on. But those first few moments were forgotten very quickly, as the film picked up pace and got better and better. Elena Panova is great in her role, and I especially enjoyed her versions of the Swiss folk songs. "Luegid vo Baerg und Tal" with a Russian accent: There's something I never thought I'd ever hear. But it totally works. The surprise ending is brilliant, to say the least. I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed this film, and I wish there were more Swiss movies of this kind.

One of my favourite playwrights is Friedrich Dürrenmatt who came from Switzerland and wrote plays of some let's say political-philosophical significance. He used to turn the world (especially the Swiss one) around and examine it from a rather twisted point of view, but usually he hit the nail on the head. This movie transfers in a hilarious way the Swiss mentality as Dürrenmatt would have presented it. Daniel Schmid gives a wonderful satirical portrait of his country although there aren't almost any Swiss actors speaking the „Schwytzerdytsch` other German speaking citizens usually spoof about Switzerland, and although the two leading characters are not Swiss but Russian and from another country (I couldn't filter out which). Weird jokes, surprisingly good actors and a satirical plot that gets better and better in course of the movie make „Beresina` a sadistic pleasure for every viewer. Of course, the ending and the message of the movie are somewhat exaggerated, but that's what satires are supposed to be. And people who know Switzerland will admit that in the main most things are not too far-fetched. I would be happy, if anybody would produce such a fine movie about my country.

In English: Every Swiss citizen is a menace for his own homeland. It is a fact, well known in Switzerland, that after World War II, the role of a Swiss Gestapo was taken over by every Swiss citizen himself, moving the curtain whenever someone left the house or arrived, noticing painfully if She has a man with her or not - the next time: if He is the same man She had before with her. Such a day is long, especially for the house-wives and the retired: No wonder that the results of this breathtaking observations have to be reported meanwhile and exchanged with the other finks and informers and plants. Officially, however, "Spitzels" there were only behind the Iron Curtain, and the big difference of the Swiss "Fröntler" from the German Nazis was THE reason that Hitler did not invade Switzerland. This "strategy" has even gotten a name: Geistige Landesverteidigung (Spiritual Homeland-Defense), and prices were given for people who won merits. That the most terrible events in and around World War II can obviously best or only treated in the form of comedies, we know since Chaplin's "Great Dictator" and until Achternbusch's "Das Letzte Loch". And "Beresina", too, is a comedy, although director Daniel Schmid has ever done one before. That "Beresina" grew also into Scmid's last movie, was due to his progressive disease rather than purpose.

Apart from being famous for its innumerable banks, chocolates and watches, Switzerland is equally famous for its peace loving people. It is precisely this quality which impels many people young and old alike to seek Swiss nationality in order to lead a better life than what they have been leading. This is something which viewers can watch in 'Beresina', a film where Swiss director Daniel Schmid chooses to reveal the weaknesses of influential Swiss people when they are duped by a meek person exploited by them. It is fun to watch how the family members of victims endorse the presence of the exploited person in their midst. Daniel Schmid's film depicts some powerful Swiss people namely an army general, some industrialists, a media specialist etc who misuse their power as well as position to indulge in personal pleasures. This film also features a discussion about how far can an ordinary person go in order to dream something big in life? There is also a sub plot about basic human values as a young Russian prostitute's innocence is shattered when a letter informs her of not having obtained the Swiss nationality. The entire story runs slowly until viewers finish watching three-fourths of the film. It is only in the last parts that some crucial events happen which herald the destruction of Switzerland. Despite being a story about an expensive call girl, Berezina is not at all exploitative. It has been hailed as a comedy film but watching it, one would not laugh in the same manner as how other people do when they watch Chaplin, Buster Keaton or Harold Lloyd.

Deconstructing Switzerland, or at least its myths and legends. "Beresina" is a comedy that gains its attraction from a naive Russian girl Irina, played by Elena Panova, a very talented young actress. Although it is presented in a very fairy-tale-like way, the story takes place in today's Switzerland with all its old-fashioned clichées. But since the movie never tries to take itself too serious, it manages to give a view of the real centers of power in this "oh so beautiful little country" the way they could be. Actually at the date of release, reality has already caught up with fiction, meaning we now have a scandal about a "secret" Secret Service and a whore pretending to know the Swiss government from within. One might almost call "Beresina" the "Wag the Dog" of Swiss politics.

All in all the film's first half presents kind of a "chronicle of slowness" and hence reflects the way structures are broken and opened to new ideas in the heads of many people always being mindful of tradition. But this slow pacing can also be very amusing, as Daniel Schmid shows us. Although he never reaches the tempo of a Billy Wilder comedy, he manages to capture another speciality of the very same director: showing people the way they are, making us care for them, without taking them too serious. A pretty obvious characteristic of this movie are the constant repetitions, which may not always please, but which show effectively how the presented characters live their lives following ritualized patterns.

What makes this movie go is doubtlessly the story of Irina, the Russian callgirl. She is the only one really believing all the myths and promises around her "promised (Switzer)land", and ironically a central factor in their destruction. She provides the only emotional relation to the audience. In her idealisticly pure hope for a paradise she is willing to sacrifice even a virtue or two ("lying is a bad thing!") in order to make her dream come true.

It's also a story about friends, most of them false ones though. From a certain point in time things happen to tumble and the satire turns into a very amusing grotesque.

Watch out for the "réduit"-sequence, a true highlight! I have to admit that I would have never thought that Swiss Folk songs could be delightful sung with a Russian accent. By the way there is a powerful performance by Geraldine Chaplin, who shows us a hundred ways to open a fan

I was very pleased to see the first good Swiss movie in years, even if its attraction may somehow be limited to Switzerland and prevent it from being successful in probable foreign releases.