I rather like foreign film, and as I’ve started to get into German cinema a little more recently I thought I’d introduce you to two contrasting movies that I’ve watched in the last week or so.
First, I’d like to introduce to a hilarious comedy from prolific actor and director, Michael Herbig, called “Traumschiff Surprise – Periode 1” from 2004. It is an absolutely insane mixture of Star Trek, Star Wars and The Fifth Element done in a Carry On style, with the incredibly camp duo of Captain Kork and Mr Spuck in command. Unfortunately the full film that I watched didn’t have subtitles, but most of the humour is visual and I did get a running commentary throughout. I have managed to find the trailer on YouTube with English subtitles in place however – check it out!
In complete contrast is the Academy Award-winning ‘Das Leben der Anderen‘ (Lives of Others) which is set in East Berlin in the 1980s, and which contrasts the life of a lonely Stasi officer with that of a successful and popular playwright. It’s beautifully crafted and full of complexity and intrigue and, while most of the film hammers home the brutality and insanity of the society that the characters live in, it does end on an upbeat, if rather understated, note. It’s very, very good, and so involving that after the first few minutes you no longer notice that you are reading subtitles (and yes, I do refuse to watch dubbed films). Definitely one for the collection!