The ground beneath my feet (Der boden unter den Füßen)

The ground beneath my feet is a psychological thriller… well, sort of. Austrian actress Valerie Pachner stars as Lola, an ambitious business consultant. She’s a workaholic, cold blond (a bit of a cliché if you ask me). One day she gets a phone that her older sister, Conny (Pia Hierzegger), has attempted suicide. Lola’s coworkers have no idea she had a sibling, and one with paranoid schizophrenia. She’s so secretive that she hasn’t even told her secret girlfriend. She’s been having an affair with her superior, Elise (Mavie Hörbiger), and no one knows. When she visits Conny at the mental hospital, it is clear for Lola that Conny is not getting better. But things are getting weird when Lola gets phone calls from Conny claiming that she is being mistreated. But Conny doesn’t have access to a phone. Is somebody playing tricks on Lola? Or is Lola loosing her mind? With stress and things shaking up at work, Lola feels more paranoid than ever. The films tries to draw a parallel between mental illness and the business world. Some people, the film seems to be saying, will sacrifice their own sanity in order to succeed. This is a noble construct. But the approach is too cold and too clinical. White walls of mental hospitals, modern glass buildings everywhere, men and woman being more interested in their laptops than in other human beings. Well directed, yes. Just not very interesting. Next!

Rémi-Serge Gratton

The ground beneath my feet (Der boden unter den Füßen)

 

Directed by:
Marie Kreutzer

Screenplay by:
Marie Kreutzer

Starring:
Valerie Pachner
Pia Hierzegger
Mavie Hörbiger
Michelle Barthel
Marc Benjamin

108 min.

Rated 14A

In German and English with English subtitles.

Cold case Hammarskjöld

The mysterious 1961 plane crash that killed United Nations Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld is being re-investigated by mad Danish journalist/filmmaker Mads Brügger. Hammarskjöld was a progressive and was about to embark on a campaign for Congo’s independence (a thing European mining companies and others were trying to avoid). To help him with the labyrinthine plot, Brügger enlists Göran Björkdahl, owner of a metal plate from Hammarskjöld’s plane. Every thing they uncover brings out more incredible conspiracies. It involves the South African institute for Maritime research (SAIMR), a paramilitary organization of white supremacists plotting to stop Hammarskjöld by shooting his plane down. Brügger and Björkdahl also uncovers that later Keith Maxwell, SAIMR’s leader, operated South African vaccination clinics. But Maxwell was not a doctor. Enough to feed the vaccination conspiracies anew. But is Cold case Hammarskjöld to be taken seriously? Brügger does some crazy things. Because Maxwell is reputed to dress only in white, Brügger also wears white. He sits in a hotel room and dictates the script to two black secretaries who take turns typing, not on a computer, but on an old typewriter, like Maxwell did. Despite these WTF rituals that Brügger somehow feels are important, Cold case Hammarskjöld has such an intriguing tale to tell that is may be worth it to take a look..

Rémi-Serge Gratton

 

Cold case Hammarskjöld

 

Directed by:
Mads Brügger

Screenplay by:
Mads Brügger

128 min.

Rated Parental Guidance

In English, French, Swedish, Bemba and Danish with English subtitles.

Balloon (Ballon)

In 1979, two families escaped from communist East Germany using a hot air balloon. Middle aged Peter and Doris Strelzyk (Friedrich Mücke and Karoline Schuch), their two children, teenager Frank (Jonas Holdenrieder) and a younger boy, and younger couple, Günter and Petra Wetzel and their two young children have built a balloon and are ready to try and escape. But it is decided that only the Strelzyk family would use the balloon (Günter Wetzel had other plans). The hot air balloon flies but soon crashes. While nobody is hurt, the family has to leave the deflated balloon behind and hurry back home. At the crash site the balloon and other evidences are found by the State security service (Stasi), headed by cynic Stasi officer Seidel (Thomas Kretschmann). We are told that between 1976 and 1988, 462 people were shot trying to cross into West Germany. So Seidel is working hard to find who build that balloon. Meanwhile, there’s another attempt planned, with another balloon. And this time the Wetzels are going to escape with the Strelzyks. But they have to be careful. Every one who acts outside of the norm becomes suspicious and will be reported to the authorities. The level of paranoia makes it seem unbelievable. But it was like that in the German democratic republic. It’s no wonder some wanted to escape. As shown in the film, the families traveled 30 miles to buy small amounts of fabric at out of town stores, after an attempt at buying a large amount of fabric got the sales clerk suspicious. When the balloon is finally shown inflated, it is a spectacular sight. Balloon is not without a few good natured cliché (like Frank, the teenager in love with the girl next door. Of course her father works for the Stasi.), but this story (filmed by Disney in 1982 with the title Night crossing) is real and feels real., certainly helped by 1979 period costumes and hairstyles. The suspense, the tension, the action and the informers are all kept at a pace that is satisfying. A nice family film.

Rémi-Serge Gratton

Balloon (Ballon)

 

Directed by:
Michael Bully Herbig

Screenplay by:
Kit Hopkins
Thilo Röscheisen
Michael Bully Herbig

Starring:
Friedrich Mücke
Karoline Schuch
David Kross
Alicia von Rittberg
Thomas Kretschmann
Jonas Holdenrieder

125 min.

In German and English with English subtitles.