Saturday 4 May 2013

Summer in Orange (5 Stars)

Incredible! This is the best film I've ever seen.

1980 in Berlin. A group of followers of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh decide to move to Bavaria, the small town Talbichl, to open a spiritual therapy centre. (Maybe I should mention that Bhagwan teaches that people can heal themselves by screaming). The film follows the culture clash of Prussians in Bavaria, and hippies in a strict Catholic community. It also shows how free love works in practice when human nature tends towards jealousy. Is it possible to be a vegetarian when German sausages taste so good? But more than anything this is the story of Lili, the 12-year-old daughter of a commune member who is desperate to be accepted in her new school.

The film made me laugh and cry. I'm sorry that it is only available in German, but I'm afraid that non-Germans might not "get it" anyway. Sheer brilliance!

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