Do you know German movies? They all belong to one of two genres: goofy, forgettable commedy coated in a thick layer of feel-good sugar, or grim drama, depleted of color and prospect. These archetypes draw from a very small pool of themes, which get explored by the ever same characters that are tightly locked to the charged actors. Variation, creativity and the development of new ideas seem to be very unpopular in German cinema, and if you're looking for any of these in movies you might just be out of luck here.
If it just wasn't for this piece: it completely disregards the popular formulae, picks a central idea - or rather question - and relentlessly explores it with no respect to the viewer's expectations.
At the core there are only three characters, who get sent on a journey through post reason capitalism. As the high profile business consultants they are they need to always be on top of everything while their slowly exposed human elements have them stumble into catastrophy with little to no control. The characters' clash and demise is entertaining to watch by itself, not at last due to the clearly involved actors. Yet there is a lot of double flooring that provides good nourishment for thought during and after the movie without pointing fingers or putting forth easy answers.
The open-minded and off-grid approach to telling this story might be taken as overly artsy by some and others will be pushed away by the remaining rough edges that are unavoidable when something is made entirely from scratch. However the boldly presented and and carefully crafted structure of the final product will most likely impress everyone else and maybe even provoke some thought.
In short: a fine movie by itself, but a revelation for German cinema.
If it just wasn't for this piece: it completely disregards the popular formulae, picks a central idea - or rather question - and relentlessly explores it with no respect to the viewer's expectations.
At the core there are only three characters, who get sent on a journey through post reason capitalism. As the high profile business consultants they are they need to always be on top of everything while their slowly exposed human elements have them stumble into catastrophy with little to no control. The characters' clash and demise is entertaining to watch by itself, not at last due to the clearly involved actors. Yet there is a lot of double flooring that provides good nourishment for thought during and after the movie without pointing fingers or putting forth easy answers.
The open-minded and off-grid approach to telling this story might be taken as overly artsy by some and others will be pushed away by the remaining rough edges that are unavoidable when something is made entirely from scratch. However the boldly presented and and carefully crafted structure of the final product will most likely impress everyone else and maybe even provoke some thought.
In short: a fine movie by itself, but a revelation for German cinema.