Me and Kaminski (film)

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Movie
Original title Me and Kaminski
Me and kaminski.png
Country of production Germany
original language German
Publishing year 2015
length 124 minutes
Age rating FSK 6
Rod
Director Wolfgang Becker
script Thomas Wendrich
Wolfgang Becker
Achim von Borries
production Barbara Buhl
Uwe Schott
Frank Tönsmann
Michael Scheel
music Lorenz Dangel
camera Jürgen Juerges
cut Peter R. Adam
Christoph Strothjohann
occupation

Ich und Kaminski is a feature film by Wolfgang Becker based on the novel of the same name by Daniel Kehlmann . It was shown in German cinemas from September 17, 2015.

action

Sebastian Zöllner is an art critic and an arrogant, unpleasant person. He lives in his friend Elke's apartment and at her expense. Zöllner wants to write a biography about Manuel Kaminski, who has become known as a “blind painter”, and thus finally land a great success. He is betting that after the foreseeable death of the elderly artist, his book will be a bestseller and a standard work. His assumption: Kaminiski is not blind at all, he cheated the art world in this regard.

Zöllner travels by train to Switzerland, where the old painter lives in a lonely house in the mountains, and takes a room in a boarding house. There he receives a call from his friend Elke, who ends her relationship with him.

The artist's daughter, Miriam, wants to be part of the talks between the customs officer and Kaminski. Zöllner learns little in the first meeting. When Miriam is out of the house, he gains entry and bribes the housekeeper so that she can leave him alone with the painter. He's searching the house. In a desk he finds Kaminski's correspondence with some of the most famous artists of the past century, including a. with Matisse and Picasso . In the basement he discovers the long-unused studio with four self-portraits, two of which he detaches from the stretcher and steals. In his mind he is already a famous bestselling author and Miriam adores him.

Zöllner confronts the painter with the fact that his childhood sweetheart Therese is still alive. He wants to go to her immediately. Zöllner sees this as an opportunity to learn more without Miriam's shielding. You set off in the painter's luxury limousine. At a rest stop, Kaminski lets an older hitchhiker get into the car. When a customs officer accompanied the painter to the toilet at a petrol station, the hitchhiker piled up the car in which Zöllner's manuscript was located. He and Kaminski continue the journey in a taxi. At 13 o'clock Kaminski wants habitually his nap with. The taxi driver drops them both in front of a shabby hotel that customs officials claim to be luxurious. While Zöllner is sleeping, Kaminski brings a prostitute to his room. Later they go on by train. Because Kaminski has no money with him, the customs officer has to pay for all costs. On the way, they spend the night at Zöllner's former friend Elke and steal their Mercedes.

The meeting with Therese is disappointing. She can or does not want to remember anything, constantly calls her former lover “Miguel” and is really only interested in her children and the television program. In the meantime, Miriam has arrived in front of the house with Kaminski's recovered car. She informs Zöllner that the most important parts of Kaminski's biography have already been written by Golo Moser, his great competitor. However, with her consent, he may say goodbye to Kaminski. He wishes to be brought to the sea, which Miriam wanted to deny him. Since the ignition key is in Miriam's car, they can zoom past the angry daughter to the sea.

On the beach they sit side by side in the sand. Kaminski writes on the stolen canvases with the self-portraits “For Sebastian”. Kaminski asks the customs officer what he has, alluding to the legend of the Buddhist missionary Bodhidharma , who replies to his disciple when he said "Master, I have nothing": "Then throw it away!".

Now customs officer understands Kaminski a little better and throws his now useless manuscript into the water. When Kaminski asked what he wanted to do now, he gave no answer. The old man remains sitting alone by the sea and becomes a painting-like representation, as in other scenes in the film.

Opening credits

At the beginning of the film, the death of the painter Manuel Kaminski is reported in various languages, referring to the end of the film. Then the life story of Kaminski is shown. You can see him as a child and later with his teachers Matisse and Picasso. His eye problems are hinted at; He has wrecked numerous vehicles, and an airplane also broke down in the 1930s. Musically, this film sequence is accompanied by John Adams The Chairman Dances (Foxtrot for Orchestra) .

reception

From the German Film and Media Review was Me and Kaminski with the predicate particularly valuable provided. The reason stated: "Wolfgang Becker has succeeded in making a remarkable film adaptation of literature: a satire on the art world, a reflection on art and finally a touching road movie."

Film reviews and audience ratings were very different overall. Was the verdict Jens Jessen for the time almost effusively: "(...) a masterpiece (...) (especially for German standards) immaculately (...) dizzying sense of timing and proportion. The punch lines sit (...) with sovereign light-footedness (...) brilliant and stunningly funny (...) virtuoso piece ”. He also praised the performance of main actor Daniel Brühl as "masterful" and that of Jördis Triebel in the role of ex-girlfriend as "great".

The next day, however, Wiebke Porombka wrote derogatory headline for the same sheet: “The painter snores into the microphone” and stated that Wolfgang Becker had “succeeded in regurgitating all the platitudes of the novel.” Without understanding, she stated: “That should obviously fall under slapstick (...) Such characters are usually only seen on the boulevard stages. Aesthetically, Becker seems to have served himself there. ”At the end of the verisses as“ handicrafts ”, she sums it up in a conciliatory way:“ There will be no doubt that there will be people who are amused by myself and Kaminski and all the silly art that is being demonstrated there . "

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Certificate of release for me and Kaminski . Voluntary self-regulation of the film industry , September 2015 (PDF; test number: 153 948 K).
  2. ↑ Me and Kaminski. No consensus yet. 25% audience score. Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved August 1, 2019 .
  3. ↑ Jens Jessen : Journalists, Artists and Other Fraudsters. Die Zeit , September 15, 2015, accessed on August 1, 2019 .
  4. ^ Wiebke Porombka: The painter snores into the microphone. Die Zeit , September 16, 2015, accessed on August 1, 2019 .