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fsommer-00688
Reviews
Jim Knopf und Lukas der Lokomotivführer (1977)
German classic. Must-watch for some childhood nostalgia.
One of the greatest TV programs ever produced in Germany. Every child from the 70s through the 2000s has watched this. I've probably watched the series dozens of times now.
The writing is funny, deep and incredibly quotable. The puppet work is impeccable and the whole production has a very unique feel (as do all the Augsburger Puppenkiste productions). Perfect to watch with some weed if you want to laugh harder than you have in a long time. All the raving reviews are 100% right.
"...I don't understand a word...
...but an old man like me doesn't have to understand every word anymore."
"... und er hat sie demjenigen zur Frau versprochen, der sie befreit."
"Oha!"
"Frau...?!?"
"...befreit...?!?"
"Machen wir!!"
The Dry (2020)
Suspenseful slow-burner that makes you *feel* the Australian heat and dry
My feelings about this movie are more in line with the critic review on RT than the user review on here. It definitely deserves a point more than the current 6.9 average.
It's a very slow burner, especially around the mid-section, which probably distorts the user ratings downwards a bit. But this slow pace is important; the movie grills you in the heat and drought of a village in absolutely flat no-man's-land in rural Australia, it makes you feel what the small community is going through. It is never a "boring" slow pace.
When Falk sits in front of a fan to cool down at night, then unsuccessfully attempts to get a cold shower running at the small "club hotel" he is staying at, you *feel* both his own exhaustion after a wearing day, and get a glimpse of what it means to live in relentlessly constant heat and dry.
This atmosphere in itself presents a permanent tension that, together with very credible acting from the entire cast and flashbacks making sense of the main character's history with the town by weaving two timelines together, keeps you glued to the screen until the plot rewards you with a few late twists and turns.
With the underlying book's success and stellar reviews, the story itself doesn't need further endorsements. This is not a modern, glamorous crime-drama with teams of detectives scouring through heaps of data with high-tech devices or CSUs evaluating fingerprints from the scene. Instead, the rural setting and lone copper trying to do right by the deceased's family almost propel you back into the past, only Falk's modern big-city and out-of-place sedan reminding you that this is taking place *now*.
This movie is well worth your time if you're not a CGI-action-addicted Marvel fan, and it does the book justice.