fritzbrause I am sorry, but upon seeing this I had the suspicion it couldn't be quite accurate and by later finding out it probably is a complete fabrication, scripted and acted out, I was feeling played with and lied to. Who likes that? I would think not a great deal of people. A simple information at the beginning that the story and the material are mostly fictitious would have prepared the viewer that he was watching something of an idealized, wanna be past, that did not happen as presented at all.I hope those filmmakers will not continue in making "documentaries" but use their imagination more accordingly in different settings. Better luck next time. For a mockumentary it just isn't funny or interesting enough.

dante979 I caught this movie on TV and at fist sight thought it was good. 1/4 into the documentary and something was bothering me. It was painfully obvious the "old" footage was not old but new footage made to look "old". After searching for more info about the movie online I found out what I fear. Movie is a fake dockumentary which is not labeled mockumentary but instead it is trying to pass as a real documentary. Only for that reason I gave this movie 2 stars. Even the director himself is not answering the question if movie is fake or not. Interestingly no one ever heard of Denis Panichek nor did anyone under that name died in Afghanistan. At this point I'm even failing to see what is the point of this fake documentary?

l_rawjalaurence THIS AIN'T California tells a great story, of the growth and development of the nascent skateboarding culture in East Germany during the Eighties. Told through the biography of one of the leading protagonists in the movement, Dirk (aka Panik), this documentary tells of how a group of friends came together in a local housing estate, and developed their own approach to skateboarding - not necessarily in opposition to the West, but independently of it. Eventually the group came into contact with colleagues from West Germany, as well as other skateboarders from Europe and the United States; and they discovered that the community was far greater than they had anticipated. The group were not necessarily rebelling against communist rule; rather they were creating an alternative world in which personal fulfillment mattered more than collective good. This message is a powerful one; but devalued somewhat by the fact that much of the footage - which claims to be authentic from the Eighties - has been mocked up for the film. Moreover the narrative thrust becomes a little lost as the film unfolds; perhaps there ought to have been less slo-mo shots of the skateboarders in action and more emphasis on the multiple narrators - the group (now middle aged) looking back on their exploits.

CharlieGreenCG Is it a documentary? Is it a feature? First time writer and director Marten Persiel tells us that it is actually both, more of a 'documentary tale' of sorts. This description of the German subtitled feature is quite fitting.This Ain't California introduces us to a group of friends who are gathering for a funeral after-party, following the death of their once close friend 'Dennis 'Panik' Paracek. What follows is a reminiscence session of old memories and footage showing the rise of staking, hip-hop and break dancing all throughout the GDR controlled 1980's.Split into several subheadings and with an additional back story, this ain't a normal documentary. It is an entirely fresh approach. Director Marten Persiel describes the films ethos was the keep away from the politics – especially the Berlin Wall. Instead the film fundamentally follows the subjective mind-set of a 17 year old of the era. This is reflected heavily, what with the shaky cam, youths doing a ton of impressive skateboarding tricks. All of that, but mixed with a mash of funky-techno music. Very unique in a sense, however it deeply echoes as just a blend of German sport advertisements merely with the brand logo missing. Sadly it is nothing more than that.Filled with footage because it can, not because it should, Marten Persiel's first feature film still stands as an original take on a documentary and it is perhaps the first skating movie ever cared for.