They should start a public service ad campaign called “The Less You Know” for film critics. I have skimmed some reviews of Berlin Alexanderplatz from its early festival appearances and the more critics knew going in – that it was a classic German novel from 1929, still revered today, that it was a 1931 film and a 1980 fifteen hour TV mini-series, the more they didn’t think this latest adaptation lives up to such an illustrious history.
Me? I didn’t know squat. I simply watched the nearly 3 hour film with interest, having no idea where it was going, but not worried too much about how long it was taking to get there. If you want to read a synopsis of the original story, be my guest. It sounds fascinating and not at all like the film I watched, which, as I say, is interesting if viewed in the following context: know that it is long, it is very much an “art house” film, and it is about one man’s struggle to be decent in a world of the indecent. It isn’t easy.
Burhan Qurbani directed this new film and reimagined it with Francis, later called Franz, a refugee from the African country of Guinea-Bissau. It is not a spoiler to say that in the opening moments, Francis (African actor Welket Bungué is riveting in every frame) will nearly drown in the ocean and his girlfriend will die in the water, leaving him to wash ashore on some European beach before making his way to Germany.
So here we have an immigrant story. Just as Scarface showed how an ambitious immigrant lost his way while simultaenlously becoming a rich drug kingpin, Francis will also find that being an undocumented immigrant will steer him into the hands of the lowlifes, where he will try to climb the ladder, but on his own terms. Also like Scarface, we infer that Francis was not Boy Scout back in his homeland.
Surely one of the creepiest characters I’ve seen in a long time is Reinhold, played with a touch of Frank Gorshin and an unattractive pornstache by German actor Albrecht Schuch. Good god, is he slimy, He exploits people like Francis and locks them into a life as small-time criminals that becomes hard to escape.
Actor Albrecht Schuch Brings the Creepy 
Actress Jella Haase
And yet, the two become friends. There is a string homoerotic undercurrent, but it seems that the relationship is non-sexual. There are several interesting characters who come in and out of view, particularly a club owner played by Annabelle Dengan, as Francis navigates his way through seedy strip clubs and robberies and thugs.
In the film’s final third, Francis falls in love with Mieze (Jella Haase), an escort who does it for the money, but also likes it. Their romance gives us hope, but the path is fraught with the evil against which Francis has always fought.
I liked it. It’s imperfect, but if viewed within the context I mentioned, it is a solid cinematic diversion. The Less You Know.
Berli n Alexanderplatz | 3 out of 4 Stars | Starting April 30 with AFI Silver Theatre’s Virtual Cinema https://afivsr.eventive.org/films and on Kino Marquee and select theatres.
