No. 43 (2022) CONTRA Palace German Film Festival June 4th.

 

Film No. 43 (2022)  June 4th.  6.45 PM   Cinema 1.  LUNA,  Leederville.

 

"There is the only way. I learned it when I had a big case. Dance!". (Professor Pohl releases his secret for overcoming anxiety to Naima before her first debate performance).

Here is a shiny German film dealing with a series of issues including chauvinism, discrimination and ultimately, empowerment. I say shiny because while its themes are seated in serious issues, the film is more comedy than drama. It's a silly fairy-tale, stolen from a popular French film, LE BRIO but it works, as fairy-tales well told often do. Richard Gere and Julia Roberts built their careers around one!

Naima Hamid (Nilam Farooq) is our hero here. She is first generation German, a Muslim with classic middle eastern looks. On entering her law lecture, a packed theatre, late, she is chastised and vilified by the cynical professor Richard Pohl. The set up is simple and sharp. A phone-video of this vilification is soon uploaded to Dean Lamprecht, and a panel is quickly convened to oust Pohl from the university. He deserves it. His outburst is appalling. But what if there is an offer of redemption? It would involve him mentoring Naima through a national tertiary debating competition.

See, I said it was silly. Naima is quiet and shy. A brilliant debater of national significance within months? Not likely, but it's a fairy-tale and these two, Farooq and Herbst, have chemistry. Like any good underdog sports flick, this has us cheering on every small moment as Naima and Prof Pete form an alliance. They reveal their vulnerabilities, appreciate each other and reveal a trick or two. The dance moment is fun!

Most of all, the humour is never forced. Our predictions of what's to come are spot on and of course there is the usual final stanza conflict. The drama of the conflict threatens to tear the fabric from all that has gone before. And maybe, if you haven't already seen the French original, it doesn't end quite as you might think. German cinema is not renowned for light melodrama ..... CONTRA gives a freshness to their film landscape.  9GUMS.