And suddenly the halfway point of the Berlinale is already over. It feels like you've only just watched the trailer for the first time in the cinema, when the Berlinale bear appears in the starry sky, and the first people are already leaving. But the competitions and other sections are still in full swing.
And if you want to discover the weird and offbeat in film history, then be sure to check out the Retrospekive, which is dedicated to German genre cinema of the 1970s.
Films in the Retrospective
Wild, weird, bloody is the motto of the retrospective, which shows German crime thrillers, horror films and late westerns. Among them are better-known works such as Fleisch or early works by directors who later became famous such as Klaus Lemke, Ulli Lommel and Wolfgang Petersen, but above all rare finds.
On Wednesday, two GDR musicals were shown that can be assigned to the slant in the motto of the retrospective. In Nicht schummeln, Liebling! with pop stars Chris Doerk and Frank Schöbel is about the mayor of a small town who uses every trick in the book to promote the football team in order to make his town famous. The new headmistress is outraged by the irregularities and puts together a women's football team. But actually the plot - which is told in leaps and bounds - is almost irrelevant, it's all about showing as many - weird - musical numbers as possible. There are elaborately choreographed dance scenes, songs and fashion from the period. Plus song lyrics such as "Today the sun has hot knickers on ..." -
Somewhat more serious in terms of content, but ultimately just as quirky, is Hat off if you kiss!, which is about the emancipation of working women. Fred, an engineer, doesn't actually want his girlfriend Petra to work as a mechanic. On the way to the Leipzig trade fair, she has had enough of his macho behaviour and sets off on her own. She meets a gallant South American man who woos her with red roses and tries to make Fred jealous.
The singing scenes are staged in black and white like old silent films or with still images and quote classics from film history. This film also has a lot of idiosyncratic scenes, such as the singing interlude of two naked men in the shower and quirky moments that make it thoroughly entertaining even today.
There is another operetta film adaptation with musical scenes and satirical allusions to everyday life in the GDR. There are even still tickets available today and tomorrow for Orpheus in the Underworld.
By the way: There are more tickets available on the Berlinale website and at the box offices So, if you'd like to see a film that's not otherwise in the regular programme, you have the perfect opportunity until Sunday at the Berlinale.
And on Friday there will be a big party at the Volksbühne when the queer film prize, the Teddy Award, is presented.
