Who what?
The joy of making music with people is always good film fodder. This one is not quite like the varying standpoints and conflicts which were dealt with in Trip to Asia* (2008), where a British journalist toured with the Berlin Philharmonic. The catch about this movie is that it fights adversities and reflects real passion via the tailored sounds of Beethoven, Händel, Mozart and Verdi - even if the setting is in Congo.
Trailer: 'Kinshasa Symphony', (2010)
Why should I go and watch this film?
To get rid of your stereotypes about Africa! To simply acquiesce to an African orchestra fiddling with Beethoven - after all, were it a Japanese orchestra in place of an African one, would it raise the same eyebrows?
Weak points
The directors Claus Wischmann and Martin Baer sometimes too casually trace the steps of their eight protagonists in their derelict homes, on their trips to the extortionate egg salesmen and in other stressful periods. More controversy would have been good, such as the relationship between religion and music
Rating out of 5: ****
3/5: Classical music always inspires positive emotions. Add to that the unconditional will of people to jam and session despite their absurd opposition. A heartening, hopeful movie which dispels the at least European stereotypes about Africa
Post-premiere reactions
The two directors and two of the musicians who came especially from Congo received standing ovations at the question and answer session at the Berlin film festival
Watching this film will make you want to
Whip out the old German flute out of the cupboard and bid traumatic school choir memories goodbye as you strike up the chords for Eine Kleine Nachtmusik'' again. Nothing is impossible!
Read a cafebabel.com review of Congolese musicians Staff Benda Bilili' here
By Christiane Loetsch live at the Berlin film festival
*To refresh your memory, here's the trailer for 'Trip to Asia: The Quest for Harmony' (2008)
Definitely the screenplay and of course Dennis Lehane's original book. The story will exasperate you throughout. Berliners liked seeing Leonardo Di Caprio speaking a bit of German
They take action to revenge those men, who treat them as sexual objects or as mere "pretty women" waiting to be saved. Most of the film's plot is set in Mexico, but the fact that these girls are Spanish is constantly mentioned to explain their tough behavior. Mind you, these references come form the lips of male characters looking for cheap explanations for the girls "abnormal" activities. Regardless of the criminal milieu, these women here are actually standing up for maltreated females all around the world. Therefore, besides the flamenco dancing and bullfighting references, the film does not communicate a message about Spain or Europe specifically.
insufficient staff, violent students and latent ethnic conflicts. The school becomes a social hot spot where different cultures, classes and religious views clash with each other. Good-will of the teacher alone can not solve the problem. Sonia Bergerac (Isabelle Adjani) is completely overstrained with her job in front of tyrannic students. Eventually she decides to bring a gun to class and introduces radical new teaching methods. Things escalate when she gets involved in a hold up that involves students, parents, police, a desperate principal and voyeuristic media alike. Lilienfeld has produced a drama which is sometimes a bit far fetched, but which refuses easy guilt patterns. Politicians, teacher and students are equally accused. The message is clear: all of them have to get back in the boat to save an ailing education system. 
the chaotic relation of Adria (Rie Rasmussen), half Serb, half Albanian and the deserter Srdjan (Nicola Djuricko). Both flee out of the former Serbian part of Kosovo and take on a career as racketeers and arms dealer. A different narration shows Adria separated from Srdjan in Marseilles, where she is an illegal immigrant. Flashback sequences connect the two narrations and locations. Rassmussen makes the audience hop from Adria’s love quest in France to kosovar trauma and pain with a bit too much ease. She neither depicts an authentic way to come to terms with the war past, nor does she dress a psychological portrait of the characters. Adria is a freak, who knows how to survive by the means of violence. But what for? Rassmussen’s character doesn’t know the answer and does not search for it. And when this stylised Lady walks in high heels over piled cadavers we rather tend to think of “Human hell” than a “Human Zoo”.
Claude
sandro
OLé
Puri Lucena
Daniel Tkatch
k.grabowska
Enno
Tobias
Jeko
Felix82
sebastien
Agi
Karsten
€conomist
cfranke
Sandra Wickert
tau
Christiane
Nabeelah
Sergio
Katha
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