Der König von Kreuzberg
| Der König von Kreuzberg | |
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theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | de: Matthias Drawe |
| Produced by | Muavin Film Berlin |
| Written by | Matthias Drawe |
| Starring |
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| Music by |
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| Cinematography | Thorsten Schneider |
| Edited by | Matthias Drawe |
| Distributed by | Muavin Film Berlin |
Release dates |
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Running time | 81 minutes |
| Country | Germany |
| Language | German (international distribution: English) |
The King of Kreuzberg (German: Der König von Kreuzberg) [1] is a 1990 German film by de:Matthias Drawe set in Berlin-Kreuzberg, a district of Berlin that has one of the largest concentration of Turks outside Turkey.
Plot summary
The young Turk R. (Rasit Tuncay) believes he can rise from the ground by mere concentration, thereby overcoming the banalities of everyday life by floating through the air. Initially he succeeds briefly in a public park but unfortunately no one has witnessed it.
Being sure of his special powers he tries to rise again in the most unsuitable situations by assuming his "take off position": standing on one leg, arms outstretched wide as if he had wings. This somewhat ridiculous pose gets him into trouble with almost everybody including his girlfriend who kicks him out when she has had enough of his antics.
As a consequence R. sleeps rough on a park bench, his meager belongings in a suitcase. Still, he does not give up and tries to rise whenever he feels the urge - which lands him in an insane asylum. His only remaining friend M. (Matthias Drawe) eventually gets him out.
Since R. cannot hold a regular job he and his sidekick M. try to raise funds through questionable schemes, including the use of a "magical ATM card" and trying to fix a horse race at the race track - unfortunately with meager or no success and the cops at their heels.
After M. can convince R. that he just might have been temporarily insane, R. returns to bourgeois life and marries his girlfriend. But the next morning the irrepressible urge is there again, stronger than ever: R. rushes into the open and assumes his take-off position.
Cast
Rasit Tuncay as R.
Kerstin Rehberg as L.
Matthias Drawe as M.
Mersedeh Tschandarabi as C.
Olmo Pini as the child
Simone Spörl as girl at bar
Fehim as the doctor
Ahmet Karabolut as hairdresser
Tanju Bilgin as the psychiatrist
Sehri Yavuz as the nurse
Al Hassan Wade as the quack
Awards
The King of Kreuzberg was nominated for the 1991 de:Filmfestival Max Ophüls Preis (Max Ophüls Award) [2]
References
External links
The King of Kreuzberg at Internet Movie Database
The King of Kreuzberg at filmportal.de