Audience Member
The equally successful as arrogant TV producer Rainer (Moritz Bleibtreu) serves the tv audience with soap operas, talk shows and trashy game shows. He works for the tv channel TTS and he is constantly on the hunt for high ratings, but the social coldness in his working environment drives him to despair and to numb himself he use drugs and alcohol to make his life bearable. One day on the bender he gets into his car despite the fact that he barely can stand and drives towards his home. At a stoplight a young woman named Pegah (Elsa Sophie Gambard) drives intentionally into the side of his car in high speed. She seeks revenge on Rainer because her grandfather took his own life due to a tv show Rainer produced. Both Rainer and Pegah survives the crash with serious injuries. While doctors resuscitate him, he ends up in a zone between life and death and he truly realise what he contributes to the world with his productions at TTS. Eventually he and Pegah find themselves trying to understand the reasons why thrash tv has become such a success. During their research they learn about the background of the audience which they believe is overvalued and unjust because some social groups are simply not recognized. On a tour of the headquarters of the IMA, the Institute for Media Analysis, which is responsible for the tv ratings, Rainer steals a ratings box and kidnaps the security guard Phillip. The trio soon becomes accomplices and initiate a TV-revolution...
"Reclaim your Brain" (Free Rainer - Dein Fernseher lügt) puts trash tv on the stand and promotes a revolution in media and in our society to end the manipulation of our brains. I think the plot and a story is there, but "Reclaim your Brain" falls a bit due to it´s funnily enough poor tv production feeling and structure. It´s not a very well made production or acting wise for that matter. Moritz Bleibtreu is normally good and he does works as Rainer, but the true gem (and really the only part that does stand out) in this film is Elsa Sophie Gambard. I was mesmerised by her presence, beauty and portrait of Pegah. Her smile, how she moved, her manners, how she was dressed etc. She was the highlight of "Reclaim your Brain" for me.
Rated 2.5/5 Stars •
Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars
02/21/23
Full Review
Audience Member
A strong film, ranging from character drama to action-packed thriller, "Free Rainer" is a potent cry for a better world.
Rated 4.5/5 Stars •
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars
02/11/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Der einzige Film in dem mehr gekokst wird als in "Free Rainer", ist wohl "Scarface".
Es existiert ein Syndrom unter deutschen Filmproduktionen, die nicht strikt fürs Arthaus produziert werden, dass sie unter einem beunruhigenden Mangel an Zielgerichtetheit leiden. Einerseits, sind sie ästhetisch meist sehr nah an TV-Serien angelehnt (Womöglich dadurch zu erklären, dass die Crew im Normalfall fürs Fernsehen arbeitet), andererseits, versuchen sie Hollywoodmäßige Effekthascherei zu betreiben.
So endet eine Satire aufs Unterhaltungswesen als eskapistisches Bobodrama, mit kurzem Zwischenstopp im Heist- und Krimigenre.
Das Ganze ist also eine eher unrunde Angelegenheit. Man findet zwar immer wieder gute Szenen, manche lustig, manche berührend und manche echt spannend, doch findet der Film nie zu einem wirklich einheitlichen Ton oder Leitmotiv, dass die Sache zusammenhalten würde.
Kurz zusammengefasst, geht es um den Fernsehproduzenten Rainer (Moritz Bleibtreu), der nach einem Attentat durch eine mysteriöse junge Frau zum Schluss kommt, dass die Qualität des Fernsehens in Deutschland zu wünschen übrig lässt und daraufhin versucht das System umzustürzen. Dabei spielen der Kampf um Quoten und einige ziemlich skurrile Pläne eine wichtige Rolle.
Zwar verehre ich Moritz Bleibtreu, der wohl zu den begabtesten deutschsprachigen Schauspielern seiner Generation gezählt werden kann, aber als Rainer hat er nicht viel zu tun außer einen auf Tom Cruise zu machen (Sprich: er ist ein arroganter Wixer, der von einer Frau zum guten bekehrt wird) und Unmengen an Koks zu schnupfen.
Seine Darbietung wird locker von Gregor Bloéb und Co-Star Elsa Sophie Gambard übertrumpft.
Für die Schauspieler war aber ohnehin kaum mehr etwas zu retten, bedenkt man die Schwächen des Skripts und das fehlende Auge fürs große Ganze.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
02/26/23
Full Review
christina c
Saw this film last night, and honestly, the only reason why I didn't give it a full five star rating was the length. It was a bit too long for it's content. But what a story! Some reviewers have complained this film is too erratic and full of cliches, but really, I think that was the whole point. The director seemed to be intentionally blunt to get his point accross. This film was an indictment on how banal and poisionous the media has become. I would recommend this to anyone who has ever turned on their TV, saw Jersey Shore/Real Houswives/Surviour/Extreme Makeover and thought "what the heck has happened to television" My guess is, that's just about everyone :) This film really is blunt in it's excecution and subtle with it's humour, but the point comes out loud an clear. Watch it and you'll enjoy it.
Rated 4.5/5 Stars •
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars
03/30/23
Full Review
Audience Member
A strangely joyless German movie about an angry jerk.
Rainer is a TV producer, responsible for absolute shlock. He takes cocaine, is sleazy, and has no conscience. One day, a woman tries to kill him in revenge for a programme that had libelled her grandfather into committing suicide. Suddenly rediscovering a conscience, Rainer first tries to make intelligent TV, which is a failure. Thwarted, he becomes convinced that the TV ratings may be manipulated by an evil conspiracy, so first he starts a covert investigation to see whether they are manipulated, then he starts a political activist gang to try and manipulate the ratings into rewarding intelligent programmes instead of drivel.
Moritz Bleibtreu gets to be angry and swear a lot. The rest of the cast get to have some humanising character qualities and flaws, and the entire movie feels like a strangely self-loathing, frustrated, angry story about losers fighting back - but with little humour and a social conscience. It's a movie that takes itself seriously, and it feels like something halfway between a story written by Cory Doctorow (I'm thinking of Makers) and one written by Doris Lessing (I'm thinking of The Good Terrorist) - there is a lot of focus on technology and methodology, and there is a lot of three-dimensional character building, but most of all, there is a lot of finger-wagging, moralising. It's like a late night conversation between student activists turned into a movie script.
There is not a whole lot of entertainment value here.
Rated 2/5 Stars •
Rated 2 out of 5 stars
02/18/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Ver interesting and important topic, a bit pretty tamely implemented though. Fun, anyway. 7-7,5/10
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
02/18/23
Full Review
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