Reviews

Werner Eiskalt unfortunately marks a new low for the series. The live action parts (yes, it has live action parts again) are far below any normal standard of acting or comedy. We have to watch Rötger Feldmann and his buddies share their memories about a moderately interesting motorbike race in the late 80s. Werner being his alter ego, the episodes are illustrated with the appropriate characters of the Werner universe, but apparently nobody noticed that many of them are not funny. The whole thing feels like a making-of or promotional TV special rather than an actual movie with a plot. It probably cost next to nothing to produce. Several clips from previous movies are cut into the film, which makes it appear recycled. It's just sad.

I saw "South" in a Sneak preview yesterday, and was quite disappointed. As much as I sympathize with the filmmakers' endurance to finish their project over such a long period of time, I must say that the result does not make an entertaining film. There is a mysterious trauma from the past which lacks credibility, and side plots that seem to be going somewhere, but don't. The film leaves much of the backgrounds of its characters unexplained, but that feels like an oversight, rather than a clever stylistic device. Some of the actors are quite good, and the cinematography and music are alright, but the flow between scenes is not always smooth (maybe because of the endless production process). We constantly hear the protagonist's thoughts in a voice-over, which struck me as rather inelegant. This film wants to be art, but is mostly confusion. If you are looking for great alternative cinema, you may want to look somewhere else.