The Dispensibles (Die Entbehrlichen) reviews
Review by on 20 Sep 2010
I like very much, that the movie puts people into the focus who live on the edge of society and nobody likes to talk about.
Review by on 20 Sep 2010
Touching, sad yet very funny in places with a nice attention to detail. Unintentionally funny eccentric subtitles - viz. "We're all in the same boot".
Review by on 18 Sep 2010
THE DISPENSABLES, which plays as part of the German Film Season, is the debut feature written and directed by Andreas Arnstedt. Set in the not-too-distant past, it is the story of those who fall through the cracks of society – focussing primarily on one working class family.
Traumatic events in recent German history are in the background here, but often go unaddressed, from the neo-Nazis in the street, to the old man still fighting the Second World War with an army of garden gnomes. There is a socially satirical streak here and some black comedy, in this gritty social drama.
Told from the perspective of a young boy, Jacob (Oskar Bökelmann), the film goes backwards and forwards in time with some considerable skill. The transitions are seamless and flow naturally, whilst the narrative line is always coherent. The film is a real triumph of editing, and perhaps a genuine fascination with film editing is the reason for the film’s running joke about the superior editorial skills of Steven Spielberg.
There are some really good performances here too, especially from the actors playing Jacob’s parents, André Hennicke and Steffi Kühnert. Hennicke manages to portray the temperamental “master painter”, Jürgen in a way which is sympathetic, despite the jarring physical abuse he inflicts upon his family. There is always a pitiful sadness behind his eyes. Kühnert is better still as Jacob’s alcoholic mother, Silke, never straying into cliché or playing the victim.
THE DISPENSABLES is tragic, gritty and unflinching, yet also moving without ever verging on sentimentality. It is also made with a style and confidence uncommon in a debut feature.
Robert Beames
Traumatic events in recent German history are in the background here, but often go unaddressed, from the neo-Nazis in the street, to the old man still fighting the Second World War with an army of garden gnomes. There is a socially satirical streak here and some black comedy, in this gritty social drama.
Told from the perspective of a young boy, Jacob (Oskar Bökelmann), the film goes backwards and forwards in time with some considerable skill. The transitions are seamless and flow naturally, whilst the narrative line is always coherent. The film is a real triumph of editing, and perhaps a genuine fascination with film editing is the reason for the film’s running joke about the superior editorial skills of Steven Spielberg.
There are some really good performances here too, especially from the actors playing Jacob’s parents, André Hennicke and Steffi Kühnert. Hennicke manages to portray the temperamental “master painter”, Jürgen in a way which is sympathetic, despite the jarring physical abuse he inflicts upon his family. There is always a pitiful sadness behind his eyes. Kühnert is better still as Jacob’s alcoholic mother, Silke, never straying into cliché or playing the victim.
THE DISPENSABLES is tragic, gritty and unflinching, yet also moving without ever verging on sentimentality. It is also made with a style and confidence uncommon in a debut feature.
Robert Beames
Film details
The Dispensibles (Die Entbehrlichen)
GERMAN FILMS
Director: Andreas Arnstedt
Actor: Oskar Bokelmann
Actor: Paul Arnstedt
Actor: Maike Bollow
Actor: Oskar Bokelmann
Actor: Paul Arnstedt
Actor: Maike Bollow
Germany, 2009.
104 mins. German with English subtitles.
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