#this is not berlin

[yougonnahateit]

Esto no es Berlín (2019)

[movie--posters]

[nerimede]

This Is Not Berlin (2019). Movie review

This Is Not Berlin (Esto No es Berlín) | 2019 | Mexico | direction: Hari Sama

This is an everything bar, says Rita, one of the characters about Aztec, a cult meeting place for rebellious young people and the cult if it comes to the movie meaning. This is an everything movie - I'm adding.

This is why it took me 3 weeks to get on with this review. I watched This is Not Berlin for the second time, but that fact didn't make things any easier. The director touches and cleverly combines many threads. But be warned - this movie is not gentle. I also have one strong remark and suggestion that I will share with you at the end.

The movie welcomes us with a slow-motion image. The main character stands among dust clouds, pushed by his fighting mates. He looks like he got there by accident, not knowing what he is doing there. This is a symbolic introduction because Carlos will be looking for his self throughout the movie. After that, we move abruptly to another scene with a crazy car ride and an eloquent Judas Priest's Breaking the Law roaring from the speakers. And this will be the whole film - crazy, dirty with moments of madness interspersed with moments for reflection. A pretty wild ride.

First of all, this is a movie about searching for oneself while entering adulthood and this search has a broad meaning. This rite of passage takes place through visits to the mythical Aztec. One day Carlos fixes keyboards in Rita's band. As a reward, he and his friend Gera wish to visit the underground club where the band is playing. Gera's sister allows them once but as you can guess, it doesn't end with one visit...

We have a strong political background here and we see how current events (Mexico, 1986) affect the mood among young people. Here you can see that Aztec is not just a place. These are, above all, people who don't fit into society and want their ideas to be sound loudly. Demonstrations are loud, uninhibited, and aggressive.

They also express their ideas through art, and this thread is also prominent. Carlos watches an expressive performance that is supposed to make the viewer disgusted. He also visits an outdoor exhibition. The works are unobvious, provoking longer reflection. Some of them are accompanied by enigmatic slogans. And that's just a small part of the rebellious art we see throughout the movie.

There are divergent views and intensive discussions between people:

∙ Honestly, I don't see any real depth in that work, man. You have to be able to expand the consciousness of the one who makes and the one who looks. ∙ I'm just saying that the only art that matters is the one that's violent and disgusting. It's also a movie about friendship. Not about a cigarette friend or somebody to have fun with. In this kind of relation, you're still friends after all the bad things that happened. A very significant scene is the funeral of Carlo's uncle. Only Rita and Gera show up, and none of the friends from the club. Also the scene with Carlos saving Gera after overdosing. And, in the end, their conversation in the hospital and Carlos' assurance that Gera will always be like a brother to him.

This is a movie about family relationship too. The film shows Carlos' close bond with his uncle, who turns out to be his master and spiritual guide. And here we come to an important matter because here, in fact, we have two spiritual guides. The uncle and Nico.

So let's move to this part - yes, this film is also about love, but not about finding, but searching for it. And here, unfortunately, I feel unsatisfied. I missed the expansion of Carlos and Nico's story. This would be an added value, not only showing unstable, casual relationships through the club. Something outside the box would be useful here to show that amid all this crap, a feeling has blossomed.

The starting point could be Nico, because there was a seed of real feeling here. Let's look at his reaction when he nabs Maud with Carlos. Although such scenes are his daily bread, it touches him that his Charlie is for everyone and not just for him. He is disgusted and later refuses to even talk to him. Yes, the same Nico who said that exclusivity is bullshit during their first conversation. He is part of this world, he creates it, and for the first time he realizes that it's too much and the lack of rules hit him too. Ever since they met, his eyes have only been on Charlie.

The alternative way I see the story is that instead of the disgusting scene between Carlos and Maud, Nico should have walked into the room earlier when Maud was drugging Carlos and started undressing him. Nico would take Carlos out of there and they would argue. Carlos would point out to Nico that promiscuous life is his everyday life and that he is a hypocrite, and then Nico would confess that this hypocrisy is called love. I imagine they wake up the next day at Nico's house and he asks Charlie, Remember what I told you yesterday?. Then the police come and arrest him. Yes, it's a kind of romanticizing, but apart from art for art's sake, it has its justification. A sad ending would show that you can easily miss something important in life if there are no rules.

Let's resume my vision with Carlos' uncle's words: Love is very wacky. It can hurt like hell. […] but when you find it, when you have that moment of silence with someone… taking that leap is worth it.

I will end the review here, but I have to do one more thing - caption the brilliant music that runs throughout the film and captures the spirit of the 80s. The scene where Carlos meets Nico and we hear the iconic Fade to Grey by Visage makes me want to be a part of those times.

Nerise Medetai

instagram.com/nerimede

[huariqueje]

Blue Stadtbad Mitte "James Simon"  -   Eline Brontsema

Dutch, b. 1988 -

Woodcut, 68.2 x 51.3 cm

[jonmoxleys]

[kropotkindersurprise]

May 10, 2024 - Hundreds of radical environmentalists and anticapitalists have broken through police lines and fences and stormed the terrain of the Tesla Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg. They are attempting to stop the planned expansion of the factory, which would mean the destruction of surrounding forest and farmland. The factory also uses immense amounts of water, and all to sell shitty electric cars to give people the idea that personal consumption choices can save the environment from destruction, and make fascist Elon Musk even richer than he already is. The actions in the past days have forced Tesla to temporarily shut down production at the factory. [video]

[meolog]

Reflections (film photography, Kodak Ektar 100)

instagram

[nipuni]

David's BAFTA looks 🥰

[radicalgraff]

"Dear germans, stop making Palestinians pay for your parents crimes"

Seen in Berlin-Kreuzberg

[letterful]

[detailedart]

St. Matthäus-Kirchhof Cemetery in Berlin, Germany

[determinate-negation]

the actual descendants of murderers calling completely historically uninvolved stateless refugees jew gassers… genuinely has anyone ever done an analysis of how germans maintain this belief on a psychological level? its just incomprehensible to me 🤦🏻

[ginasdiary]

Books don't offer real escape, but they can stop a mind scratching itself raw

~ David Mitchell, Cloud Atlas

[huariqueje]

Blue Swimming Hall , Fincknsteinallee - Eline Brontsema , 2024.

Dutch, b. 1988 -

Woodcut, 67.8 x 51 cm.

[jonmoxleys]

[sealskin]

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/41pu2j0alrvmmqq/AADcNEo2K-fsdlacFfuXnKtva?dl=0

Above is the link to an audio file with Palestinian music, read-aloud poetry, storytelling, and excerpts from speeches on history and liberation. It was gathered by Radio Al Hara, an internet radio station broadcast from Ramallah, Bethlehem, and Amman in Jordan, founded during the pandemic as a way to connect during isolation. “Al Hara” means ​“the neighbourhood” in Arabic. From the river to the sea! 🇵🇸