Berlin

Ben Becker after the screening of "Der Gleiche Himmel" (The Same Sky)

Berlin Journal, Thursday Day 7 

by Alex Deleon <film festivals.com>
Only two films were seen today but both of were of primo excellence.
After resting in bed until noon I headed out to West Berlin on the U-bahn to Catch the  much heralded TV series World Premiere of "The Same Sky" about sex espionage in divided Berlin  in 1974 at the hard to get to Haus der Deutschen Festspiele. Getting there is half a hardship because it is still a tortuous walk after emerging from the metro but the effort expended was justified by the spectacle in question.

The main reason for my own interest in a television show was because of the collaboration between director Oliver Hirschbiegel  and actor Ben Becker of the 2006 masterpiece "Ein Ganz Gewöhnlicher Jude" and hoping to catch up with Becker after all these years, which I in fact did, after the screening. Hopefully that will,lead to an extensive interview in the near future

But Why? -- one might ask, a TV show at a major Film festival?

The answer supplied by festival topper Dieter Koslick is both direct and simple. In recent years the quality of TV drama has improved so much that the viewership is beginning to overlap and compete with film viewing to a large extent world wide. Time to include the best of TV films here.

What was shown was the first two installments of what will be a six part mini-series. The title " The Same Sky" (der Gleiche Himmel) will ring so true to Residents of this city who who lived from 1961 up until 1989 in a city divided into Communist East (GDR) and Capitalist  west, but obviously living under the same sky?

This series will appear in three two hour segments here in Germany but in six single. hour installments in UK and elsewhere. Thebstory starts in East Berlin at an espionage training center where young German soldiers are being taught how to seduce enemy women who could become valuable information sources. One trick, the lecturer tells us, is to make eye contact and focus on the  the Left eye of the intended female victim because women operate by emotion, not by logic, and the left eye is connected to the Right side of the brain where the emotions reside. (Sounds good to me -- maybe I'll give it abtry on my next attempt at seduction!) -- sounds comical but this is a serious story based on presumed fact. A fresh looking young chap is selected toninfiltrate the wesr under an assumed identity and attempt to seduce an unmarried older Swedish woman working for British M.I. in a i oortant position that could supply critical information to the GDR. 

In the first two segments we see how the young undercover agent is able to become intimate with the lady in question by successfully applying the seduction techniques learned in the GDR soy school. 

The attractive older woman who is the object of GDR military intelligence is played by Swedish actress Sofia Helin, well known in Europe from the TV series The Bridge and the young seducer is popular German TV actor Tom Schilling.  Ben Becker plays the gruff East German officer who is the handler of the young agent sent to the other side of the Wall and himself infiltrates the west on occasion. 

Fascinating story, Can't wait to see how it comes out in the followup installments. The script was written by multi-award winning British screenwriter Paula Milne which accounts for the British twist to this Berlin Story.

Jesper Christensen, magnificent as Hakon VII in "The King's Choice"

From there I walked up to the Zoo Palast, a long twenty minute trudge, just in time to catch The Norwegian WWII epic called "The Kings 

Choice". (Kongens Nei). This is a tremenndous docu-drama of the category "They don't them like this Anymore" -- over two hours long but focusing just on the four day period from April 8 to April 11, 1940 -- when the Germans invaded Norway for the iron ore reserves and the long strategic coastline under the pretense that they were protecting Norway from a British invasion. The old actor who plays King Hakon VI as a devoted family man as well as a noble king was exceptional and arresting. (Jesper Christensesn, 68)
Suspense filled, almost an historical thriller. So well made that even if this is a relatively unknown corner of WW history it may go over at some international BOs just for the spectacle and scope. Great picture.
Made my festival day, and washed it down with an Indian dinner at Ashoka in Savigny Plarz.
King Hakon VII already up in years, has to decide whether  to acquiesce to a Puppet Government under Norwegian traitor Quisling or refuse to accede to the German demands and bring the Norwegians into armed conflicr with the invaders. After fleeing to the north one step ahead of the advancing Germans he agrees to meet the German envoy for a final attempt at a negotiated settlement to achieve a peaceful solution but feels it his royal duty to decline and go into a brief hopeless war of resistance.
The events of these critical days are followed almost hour by hour to produce a documentary effect but this is actually fictional although based on real, people and real events.

Xlnt movie. Made my day.

"King's Choice" is a 2016 biographical war film directed by Erik Poppe. A co-production between Norway and Ireland, and was selected as the Norwegian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars 2017.

Alex, Golden Bear Lounge

Grand Hyarr, Berlin