ksf-2 Learning life's lesson the hard way. Poor guy. Niko is having a really bad day. All he wants is a ##$$%% cup of coffee, and his day just keeps worse and worse. Looks like he's not getting his driver's license back, his father has shut off his bank account for being a slacker, and he gets busted for not having a ticket for the subway. Grainy, gritty black and white photography of Berlin. Tom Schilling does a great job of showing us a pretty rough day in one man's life. Really quite good at showing us all the issues that weigh on him, but he keeps on trucking. The rough day turns into a bad night, but then... when morning comes, we are given just a smidge of hope. Directed by Jan Ole Gerster. He had only done a couple things prior to this, but does a fine job. The music is eerie in the right places. Not too much talking. We see a lot just observing. One of the characters, an old man he bumps into at the coffee shop goes into a long tirade talking about Kristallnacht, and how it affected him as a small child. That went on for quite a long time, but this IS a film about Berlin, so clearly someone thought it was important to include here. Good stuff.

kosmasp There is a theme in the movie and I'm not talking about the growing up part. I'm talking about the part where the lead character has to make decisions. Which he is unable too. You could argue, that is part of growing up, but it's just a theme that runs through many people and will touch a nerve.Of course the one thing our lead character wants, he doesn't get. There is always an obstacle, something that will not let him get it. For some that might feel symbolic (and the resolution this has or hasn't at the end of the movie might feel that way too), but that depends on how you view things. And that is something that has been done clever by the filmmaker here. Shooting in black and white is an art choice, but I feel it works for the general feeling of the movie

Elisabeth-topping Whilst the nouvelle vague phenomenon continues in NY, it's seems Berlin, and Jan Ole Gerster actually has something to say. At times comedic, at times serious, the writing is wonderfully wry and reminiscent of Woody Allen's darker moments. The tension between the black comedy and the underlying backdrop of Berlin's inescapable history is a knife edge Jan treads with the delicacy of a master. Berlin looks fantastic in black and white, and the effortlessly understated cinematography and precise editing mean this film deserves all the hype that Frances Ha is getting and more.Refreshing, and fresh this is an incredibly accomplished thesis film. And trust me, you can live without the trailer.

Jochen Wilhelm As a German living abroad for the past 12 years, it's been a surprising pleasure to see, back in Berlin, this little jewel of a movie. Step by step the young guy's everyday-life situations pull you in, develop a light but melancholic atmosphere in which great acting, a pensive and funny script, music that reminds the best of Miles Davis and awesome black-and-white camera-work form a wonderful whole of a movie. If you see, towards the end, average shots of Berlin turned into looking poetic… you know the film has found its tone just on the right note.Beautiful - I hope this (first!) film didn't only accidentally turn out so well. You want to wish the director, all actors and his crew the very best !