t-17 Reviews

Das fliegende Klassenzimmer (2003)

Wonderful; Simply Wonderful

[5 July 2003]

I stumbled across this movie while browsing the on-demand video system on a Singapore Airlines flight between Newark NJ and Amsterdam.

Having no familiarity with the original storyline "The Flying Classroom", I was nonetheless delighted at the quality of the acting, and by even more, the attention to sheer detail in the way props, scenes, etc are presented. Part of this may be due to the fact that no American studio was involved - Constantin Film is a German/European studio, and as such the movie was not adulterated in the way a Disney/Universal children's movie would be.

Everything - including the catchy theme music (not to mention the few phrases of Christmas Oratorio we get to hear), the interaction of the young actors and actresses, the subtle use of Mercedes-Benz vehicles, and even the underlying storyline has a very Germanic/European feel to it. And that's no joke either. Beautiful scene of Leipzig in the winter too. Wonderful, simply wonderful.

I plan on getting this one on DVD (to play on my multiregion DVD player) when it comesout.

Capital City (1989–1990)

Profoundly realistic, and a great drama too.

[14 July 2000]

Shane-Longman, a mid-size, up-and-coming investment banking house in The City (akin to WallStreet) in London prides itself on its youthfull staff, and an uncanny ability to come through innovative, yet more than usual unconventional financial solutions. Although all the characters in the series come to the spotlight at one point, some might say the series resolves around the relationship of the two primary characters Declan McConnachie, a young, high-riding trader on the primaries desk, and Michelle Hauptmann, a vibrant trader with Shane's German branch, who is temporarily located in England. This series features some other notable actors like Rolf Saxon as the American attorney Hudson Talbot the Third, along with an apprehensive, and almost timid Saira Todd, playing Hillary Rollinger, a new trader, who comes under the wing of Michelle Hauptmann. Who would've thought that Saira Todd would later play a key role in Channel 4's "Queer as Folk!" Through the series, topics such as stress, drug-abuse, insider trading, homosexuality, and black-market trading are addressed through the experiences of the staff. In the United States, this series was originally distributed to PBS stations in the mid 1990s via the Program Resource Group. I eagerly await the series reruns.