46. Hofer Filmtage

This weekend was the 46th annual Hofer Filmtage, the second largest film festival in Germany after Berlin.  It actually lasts a whole week, but most of the action happens on the weekend.  Each year, people from all over the world come to Hof to debut their films, many of which are seen here before being released in theaters.  Sometimes the director, crew, or even actors are in the theater for the film screening, and you can talk to them afterward.

Schulter an Schulter movie poster

On Friday, I saw a German documentary called Schulter an Schulter ("Shoulder to Shoulder").  It took place in Afghanistan and followed the lives of two soldiers, one in the German Army and one in the Afghan Army.  Both men had a wife and children at home, both were away from their families for several months, and both felt pride in their daily work.  When the German soldier was asked why he chose to join the military and get deployed, he said that there is so much Böse (meaning "bad" or "evil") in Afghanistan and he wants to do what he can to improve the situation.  He explained that if he could do a little bit of good, then he'll feel like he accomplished something.

The film showed both military bases in Afghanistan, and how they interacted with each other.  The Germans would go over to the Afghan camp or they would meet at a training facility.  As the commanding Afghan officer trained his men, the Germans would observe and give advice.  The Germans had to speak English to a translator, who would then pass on the instructions to the Afghans (hopefully, nothing gets lost in translation!).  The documentary showed where both men ate, slept, and worked, and what they thought about each other.  The interviewer asked them questions about daily life as a deployed soldier, as well as what life is like for them back home.

At the end of the film, it showed both men reuniting with their families.  The wife of the German soldier said it is always hard when her husband is away for 6 months, because all the neighbors have husbands/fathers who come home at night, and it is difficult to be both a mother AND father to her children.  But it was even harder for the wife of the Afghan soldier, because she cannot go to the grocery store or leave her home without an escort.  So when her husband is gone, she has to find another male relative to accompany her.

What I appreciated about this documentary is that it was not trying to make a political statement or say one side is better than the other.  When asked their views on the other country's military, both men said they are the same.  They work hard and do what they have to do to make it home to their families.  And although they come from different countries with different cultures, they work side-by-side, shoulder-to-shoulder.

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with Sebastian at the 46. Hofer Filmtage

On Saturday, I accompanied Sebastian and his friend to a feature film called Den skaldede frisør (literally translated "the bald hairdresser," but for some reason the English title is "Love is All You Need"...I hate translations that don't make any sense).  Most of the film was in Danish with German subtitles, but the main actor spoke English--Pierce Brosnan.  If you plan on seeing the film, skip over the next part, because I'm going to spoil it for you.  But it's a European romantic comedy, so you could probably guess the plot anyway.

Basically, Pierce Brosnan lives and works in Denmark, understands the language, but refuses to speak it.  He's an uptight businessman with a lonely life.  His son is getting married in Italy.  Meanwhile, the mother of the bride finds her husband (the father of the bride) sleeping with a younger woman.  Then Pierce Brosnan and the mother of the bride get into a car accident with each other on the way to the airport, which is how they meet.  They all arrive in Italy: the bride and groom, mother of the bride, father of the bride with new girlfriend, father of the groom (Pierce Brosnan), and wacky sister of dead wife who is in love with Pierce Brosnan.  Chaos unfolds, we find out the groom is gay, the wedding gets called off, and at the end Pierce Brosnan and the mother of the bride live happily ever after.

Not my favorite film, but I've seen worse.  It's kind of like when I watched Inglorious Bastards...I didn't care for the film itself, but I liked listening to the foreign languages and following along with the subtitles.  For some reason, it makes me feel smart.

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The last film I saw was on Sunday, once again with Sebastian and his friend.  It was a German film called Leg ihn um!, which pretty much means "kill him."  I appreciated the storyline better than the previous film and it had a lot of funny situations.  Once again, if you plan on seeing the film, stop reading now...

The story was about a rich old man with 4 grown children, who is very sick and practically on his deathbed.  He brings the older 3 children and their significant others together to tell them that one child will be his sole heir--the one who successfully kills him within a week.  I guess he figured the one with enough brains and guts to kill him would be able to manage his estate.  For some reason, the youngest daughter was not called to the meeting, probably because she is sweet and really loves her father.  However, none of the other 3 siblings told her about this proposal.

The comedy began when each of the children (along with their significant others) tried to kill their father.  The first son chopped a tree until it was almost ready to fall, attached a rope from the tree to the car, and pushed his dad on the ground under the tree, so that it would fall on him.  But the tree didn't fall in time and the father just laughed.  The daughter tried to poison his food, but the father saw right through that and stuffed the food in his napkin when she wasn't looking.  The last son tried to suffocate his father in bed with a plastic bag, but the father's assistant came in to rescue him.  It all sounds rather morbid, but it was quite comical.  At the end, the youngest daughter accidentally pulls a tube off her father in the hospital and kills him, unknowingly becoming the sole heir.

My only problem with the film was all the sex and nudity.  I know European films are different than American films, but it's still really sad to see sex portrayed in such a casual way.  It should be the ultimate physical expression of love between a man and woman, but this movie just depreciated its value.  Plus it was really awkward when one of the actors came up front after the movie, because I had just seen him completely naked on the big screen!

Ah yes, Germany has its pros and cons.  But at the end of the weekend, my favorite film was Schulter an Schulter, the military one.

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In other news...it snowed this weekend!

I woke up to a winter wonderland...in October!

my walk to church on Sunday