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Berlin – 1. Mai – Kreuzberg Revolutionary Fantasy
By Ron Holloway | August 18, 2008
Following the film’s gala premiere in the Perspektive Deutsches Kino at this year’s Berlinale, Berlin – 1. Mai (Germany, 2008) – codirected by a filmmaking quartet composed of Carsten Ludwig and Jan-Christoph Glaser, Sven Taddicken, Jakob Ziemnicki – was a cinch to screen later at select Berlin venues as a special event linked with the annual May 1st demonstration in Kreuzberg. In fact, that’s exactly what Berlin – 1st May is all about!
Although on the surface little more than a fictional May 1st sketch of a potentially explosive street demonstration, the film does recall past police encounters that had once triggered raw nerves among protesters. Over an extended 24-hour period, the viewer is introduced to typical participants.
A Turkish kid defies his wiser older brother by sneaking out of the house to “flatten a cop” at the first opportunity. A deadhead policeman sees his wife returning home after a night on the town just as he is leaving to join his squad to keep order in Kreuzberg. Two teenagers from provincial Minden arrive at the Hauptbahnhof to experience firsthand the fleshpots of the big city. Last, but not least, a war-weary 1968-oldtimer tries to rekindle the dying revolutionary flames of yesteryear.
A black comedy? All of that. But more an open-ended portrait of big city troubles and smalltown hangups that in the end bode ill for nearly all concerned. A docu-drama with surprising twists, Berlin – 1. Mai takes the pulse of the naked city on the one day that matters.
– Ron Holloway
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