KINO/23 German Film Festival: Six Decades - Six Iconic Films
Venue: Louis Koo Cinema, Hong Kong Arts Centre
Date: 2023.10.26 - 2023.11.02
Price: Standard price: HK$85 each / Tickets are now available on POPTICKET.hk.
This year, Goethe-Institut Hongkong celebrates its 60th anniversary. To mark the occasion, we have selected six iconic films from six decades: Films that inimitably capture the spirit of their time and shape it into images that have become part of our collective memory.
Goethe-Institut Hongkong invited six film experts to share with us what makes these films so special even today - very briefly, because time is flying!
Goethe-Institut Hongkong invited six film experts to share with us what makes these films so special even today - very briefly, because time is flying!
KINO/23 German Film Festival: Six Decades - Six Iconic Films
1960S
The Divided Heaven
Der geteilte Himmel
East Germany | 1964 | 116’ | BD | B&W | In German with English subtitles
Director: Konrad Wolf
Der geteilte Himmel
East Germany | 1964 | 116’ | BD | B&W | In German with English subtitles
Director: Konrad Wolf
26/10 (Thu) 20:00
"Idealists and cynics, staying and leaving, love and duty, we and I. Clashing, through gallows humour and visual poetry. A modern ode to “broken generations” everywhere."
-- Clarence Tsui, film critic
Following a nervous breakdown, Rita Seidel returns to the village of her childhood. She has been told to get some proper rest. She wants to regain her strength and uses this period of convalescence to mull over her past. She had met Manfred Herrfurth, a chemist ten years her senior, and had fallen irresistibly in love with him precisely because his mind was so utterly unlike her own. He was uncommonly intelligent and a keen observer of both people and things. Rita is a natural, open-minded person, full of expectations for the future. Herrfurth, on the other hand, has become cynical as a result of bitter experience.
Rita moves to town to live with her lover, to begin a new life as it were and to become a teacher. Many things are new and thrilling; town life itself as well as her work. But living with Manfred turns out very differently from what she originally dreamt of. He is embittered and after seeing a chemical process which he has developed and whose realisation he has pinned his hopes on rejected, he becomes totally discouraged and leaves for West Berlin. He is convinced that Rita will follow him. But she does not. Being separated from him, taking leave of her great love, triggers a psychological crisis and breakdown. Of course, some wounds will remain, but Rita is a strong woman who will overcome this crisis.
-- Clarence Tsui, film critic
Following a nervous breakdown, Rita Seidel returns to the village of her childhood. She has been told to get some proper rest. She wants to regain her strength and uses this period of convalescence to mull over her past. She had met Manfred Herrfurth, a chemist ten years her senior, and had fallen irresistibly in love with him precisely because his mind was so utterly unlike her own. He was uncommonly intelligent and a keen observer of both people and things. Rita is a natural, open-minded person, full of expectations for the future. Herrfurth, on the other hand, has become cynical as a result of bitter experience.
Rita moves to town to live with her lover, to begin a new life as it were and to become a teacher. Many things are new and thrilling; town life itself as well as her work. But living with Manfred turns out very differently from what she originally dreamt of. He is embittered and after seeing a chemical process which he has developed and whose realisation he has pinned his hopes on rejected, he becomes totally discouraged and leaves for West Berlin. He is convinced that Rita will follow him. But she does not. Being separated from him, taking leave of her great love, triggers a psychological crisis and breakdown. Of course, some wounds will remain, but Rita is a strong woman who will overcome this crisis.
1970S
The American Friend
Der amerikanische Freund
West Germany, France | 1977 | 126’ | DCP | Colour | In German, French and English with English subtitles
Director: Wim Wenders
Der amerikanische Freund
West Germany, France | 1977 | 126’ | DCP | Colour | In German, French and English with English subtitles
Director: Wim Wenders
28/10 (Sat) 15:00
"Wenders took on American film noir for his international breakthrough - and it's the best of both worlds!"
-- Edmund Lee, film editor of South China Morning Post
Jonathan is a craftsman living with his family in the city of Hamburg where he has a small workshop for his painting. One day a Frenchman appears on the scene, making him an incredible offer - in exchange for 250 000 German Marks he is to travel to Paris where he is to assassinate a member of the Mafia. Could Jonathan′s recent acquaintance, the enigmatic Tom Ripley lie behind all this? Jonathan is anyhow involved in the painting of fake pictures. Wanting the money in order to finance the treatment of his severe illness, he takes on the job. But things are not to be settled with just one murder alone. Soon he has to kill another man. Jonathan tries to free himself from the gangsters clutches with Tom Ripley′s help, a man who is somehow mysteriously involved in the whole affair.
-- Edmund Lee, film editor of South China Morning Post
Jonathan is a craftsman living with his family in the city of Hamburg where he has a small workshop for his painting. One day a Frenchman appears on the scene, making him an incredible offer - in exchange for 250 000 German Marks he is to travel to Paris where he is to assassinate a member of the Mafia. Could Jonathan′s recent acquaintance, the enigmatic Tom Ripley lie behind all this? Jonathan is anyhow involved in the painting of fake pictures. Wanting the money in order to finance the treatment of his severe illness, he takes on the job. But things are not to be settled with just one murder alone. Soon he has to kill another man. Jonathan tries to free himself from the gangsters clutches with Tom Ripley′s help, a man who is somehow mysteriously involved in the whole affair.
1980S
Solo Sunny
East Germany | 1980 | 104’ | BD | Colour | In German with English subtitles
Director: Konrad Wolf, Wolfgang Kohlhaase
28/10 (Sat) 19:30
"A compellingly intimate DEFA woman's film from the late '70s by two creative personalities (Wolf and Kohlhaase) central to GDR cinema, SOLO SUNNY (starring Renate Krößner -- superb) is distinguished by its earnest directness, crowd-pleasing humor, and low-key realism based on scrupulous research, making for fascinating comparison with the camp decadence, sophisticated irony, and self-conscious cinephilia of Fassbinder's lavishly stylized melodramas on the other side of the wall, while opening a window onto the private yearnings of nonconformist East German youth at the time against their oppressive environs, from dreary provincial towns to Berlin's Prenzlauer Berg, with its distinctive inner courtyards (a prominent visual feature of the film) and unconventional bohemian milieu."
-- Dr. Derek Lam, Film Scholar, University of Hong Kong
Ingrid Sommer tries to launch a singing career with a stage name, Sunny, and travels around with the band Tornados to play small gigs around the province. While her headstrong way often puts her at odds with the rest of the world, and her romantic pursuits have not made things easier, she has also become more self-assertive, vigorous and alive. Based on the true story of a Crimean Tatar orphan, an outcast in the GDR, the tale of Sunny as a loner accentuates the sense of displacement of individuals in the GDR.
1990S
Run Lola Run
Lola rennt
Germany | 1998 | 79’ | BD | Colour | In German with English subtitles
Director: Tom Tykwer
31/10 (Tue) 20:00
"It changed our previous impression of German movies, completely refreshing. Watching it again 25 years later, it is still exciting to watch. In addition to Lola, Berlin's urban landscape is actually the protagonist of the movie."
-- Teresa Kwong, film producer
A young man urgently needs 100.000 Marks otherwise he will be killed by a gangster. His girl-friend Lola rushes around madly trying to collect the money and save her beloved. This love story is told by the young Berlin director Tom Tykwer in three versions, each with a different ending. RUN LOLA RUN is first and foremost a film that plays with the means available to the cinema, but also documents a style of life and was one of the most successful German Films to be produced in 1998.
2000S
Cherry Blossoms - Hanami
Kirschblüten – Hanami
Germany | 2008 | 127’ | HD | Colour | In German, English and Japanese with English subtitles
Director: Doris Dörrie
1/11 (Wed) 20:00
"One world, many cultures, endless beauty."
-- Ruby Yang, film director, producer, editor; winner of Academy Awards, 2006
A story of selfless love that is also a poetic journey into the meaning of life itself. Trudi is the only one who knows that her husband is terminally ill with cancer. When his doctor suggests that the couple undertake one last trip together, Trudi persuades her husband to accompany her to visit her children and grandchildren in Berlin. However, the members of their family are far too wrapped up in their own lives to be able to take care of the couple. After a theatre trip to see a Butoh dance performance, Trudi and Rudi decide to go and stay at a hotel on the Baltic coast. And then, out of the blue, Trudi dies. Rudi is completely at a loss. He has no idea what to do with his life, until he decides to go to Japan to visit their youngest son, Karl.
-- Ruby Yang, film director, producer, editor; winner of Academy Awards, 2006
A story of selfless love that is also a poetic journey into the meaning of life itself. Trudi is the only one who knows that her husband is terminally ill with cancer. When his doctor suggests that the couple undertake one last trip together, Trudi persuades her husband to accompany her to visit her children and grandchildren in Berlin. However, the members of their family are far too wrapped up in their own lives to be able to take care of the couple. After a theatre trip to see a Butoh dance performance, Trudi and Rudi decide to go and stay at a hotel on the Baltic coast. And then, out of the blue, Trudi dies. Rudi is completely at a loss. He has no idea what to do with his life, until he decides to go to Japan to visit their youngest son, Karl.
#Cherry Blossoms - Hanami is classified as Category III, refunds will be made to ticket holders under 18 years old, please contact the POPTICKET at ask@popticket.hk
2010S
My Name Is Victoria
Victoria
Germany | 2014 | 140’ | DCP | Colour | In German, English, Spanish and Turkish with English subtitles
Director: Sebastian Schipper
My Name Is Victoria
Victoria
Germany | 2014 | 140’ | DCP | Colour | In German, English, Spanish and Turkish with English subtitles
Director: Sebastian Schipper
2/11 (Thu) 20:00
"A gripping and immersive cinematic experience that captivates viewers with its seamless one-shot real-time technique, taking them on a thrilling journey through the streets of Berlin."
-- Didi Wu, Director of Broadway Cinematheque
KINO/23: Six Decades - Six Iconic Films Ticket Package $360
- Include one ticket each for all of the six films, "The Divided Heaven", "The American Friend", "Solo Sunny", "Run Lola Run", "Cherry Blossoms – Hanami" and "My Name Is Victoria" of the Six Decades - Six Iconic Films.
- Include one ticket each for all of the six films, "The Divided Heaven", "The American Friend", "Solo Sunny", "Run Lola Run", "Cherry Blossoms – Hanami" and "My Name Is Victoria" of the Six Decades - Six Iconic Films.
Standard price: HK$85 each
Concession tickets price: HK$68 each, specially offer to:
• 20% discount for tickets for full-time students, senior citizens aged 60 or above, and people with disabilities and the minder and Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) recipients. Concessionary ticket holders must produce evidence of their identity or age upon admission.
• 20% discount to Goethe-Institut Hongkong’s students. Ticket holders must present a valid discount letter upon admission.
• 20% discount to HKAC members. Ticket holders must present a valid membership card upon admission.
• 20% discount for each purchase of 4 or more standard tickets.
• Only one discount offer could be applied to each ticket purchase.
Concession tickets price: HK$68 each, specially offer to:
• 20% discount for tickets for full-time students, senior citizens aged 60 or above, and people with disabilities and the minder and Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) recipients. Concessionary ticket holders must produce evidence of their identity or age upon admission.
• 20% discount to Goethe-Institut Hongkong’s students. Ticket holders must present a valid discount letter upon admission.
• 20% discount to HKAC members. Ticket holders must present a valid membership card upon admission.
• 20% discount for each purchase of 4 or more standard tickets.
• Only one discount offer could be applied to each ticket purchase.
For admission, audience must present the QR code (either in electric or printed version) shown on the popticket.hk e-ticket at the venue.
Ticketing enquiry: ask@popticket.hk (Office hour: Mon-Fri 10am-7pm)
Ticketing enquiry: ask@popticket.hk (Office hour: Mon-Fri 10am-7pm)
Programmes are subject to change without prior notice.
Presenter: Goethe-Institut Hongkong
In collaboration with: Hong Kong Arts Centre
In collaboration with: Hong Kong Arts Centre
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