Berlin Alexanderplatz

Released Apr 30, 2021

3h 3m

Drama

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List

45%

20 Reviews

Tomatometer

71%

Fewer than 50 Ratings

Audience Score

An African immigrant struggles to make a new life for himself in the big city in director-co-writer Burhan Qurbani's (We Are Young. We Are Strong.) audacious, neon-lit reinterpretation of Alfred Döblin's 1929 novel. After surviving his perilous journey, Francis vows to be a good man, but he soon realizes how difficult it is to be righteous while undocumented in Germany -- without papers, without a nationality, and without a work permit. When he receives an enticing offer for easy money from the psychopathic gangster Reinhold (Albrecht Schuch), Francis initially resists temptation, but eventually he is sucked into Berlin's underworld and his life spirals out of control.

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Critics Consensus

Berlin Alexanderplatz is ambitious and well-intentioned, but once the potent atmosphere settles and the contemporalities of the adaptation wear off, the movie disillusions.

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Audience Member

Despite being unfamiliar with the original source material, I really enjoyed this modern take. The acting was absolutely fantastic, especially Albrecht Schuch's performance as Reinhold, and the pacing kept me on the edge of my seat. I didn't know that the film was three hours but the story and characters kept me engrossed every minute. Watch this film for a wild ride!

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/16/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Something of a modern odyssey. A little all over the place at times but interestingly navigating dark waters of human contemporary life. The first 10 minutes are visually stunning with a poetic approach and a sense of style and then reality hits you. It has all along a notable direction and the movie, a bit repetitive in its construction and scenes arrangement but never really feels like a 3 hours movie as it stand deeply immersive and with good characters. Something of an experience with is already better than just a simple movie.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/04/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Yes, it's a bit too long, but compensates that by the amazing atmosphere. It's also really engaging and suspenseful.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/14/23

Full Review

Audience Member

a bit over the top, good story but could of been portrayed much better

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/06/23

Full Review

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Burhan Qurbani

Director

Albrecht Schuch

Reinhold

Jella Haase

Mieze

Joachim Król

Pums

Welket Bungué

Francis

Nils Verkooijen

Berta

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Berlin Alexanderplatz: Trailer 1

2:14

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Nicolas Rapold

New York Times

[Qurbani]'s "Berlin Alexanderplatz" is a nice place to visit but you might not want to live there for three hours.

Apr 30, 2021

Full Review

Deborah Young

Hollywood Reporter

A heavy-handed re-imagining.

Feb 29, 2020

Full Review

Jessica Kiang

Variety

The episodic, sometimes almost soap-operatic nature of Qurbani's storytelling sacrifices a great deal of thematic depth for a great deal of eventing instead.

Feb 26, 2020

Full Review

Erick Estrada

Cinegarage

A different interpretation that attacks the same economic system... [Full review in Spanish]

Jul 18, 2023

Full Review

Witney Seibold

Critically Acclaimed Podcast

The epic crime tale reduced to a mere three hours leaves a lot to be desired.

Sep 14, 2021

Full Review

Gary M. Kramer

San Francisco Bay Times

Berlin Alexanderplatz crackles because Welket Bungué is magnetic in the central role.

Aug 26, 2021

Full Review

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Synopsis

An African immigrant struggles to make a new life for himself in the big city in director-co-writer Burhan Qurbani's (We Are Young. We Are Strong.) audacious, neon-lit reinterpretation of Alfred Döblin's 1929 novel. After surviving his perilous journey, Francis vows to be a good man, but he soon realizes how difficult it is to be righteous while undocumented in Germany -- without papers, without a nationality, and without a work permit. When he receives an enticing offer for easy money from the psychopathic gangster Reinhold (Albrecht Schuch), Francis initially resists temptation, but eventually he is sucked into Berlin's underworld and his life spirals out of control.

Director: Burhan Qurbani
Screenwriter: Martin Behnke
Distributor: Kino Lorber
Production Co: Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, Arte, Nederlands Filmfonds, Wild at Art, Lemming Film, Eurimages, Sommerhaus Filmproduktionen , Entertainment One, Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (ZDF), Deutscher Filmförderfonds
Genre: Drama
Original Language: Portuguese (Brazil)
Release Date (Theaters): Apr 30, 2021, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Jul 6, 2021
Runtime: 3h 3m
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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