Neukölln Unlimited (2010) Reviews

• Everybody's darling at the Berlin International Film Festival.

  operacionclandestina2010-03-26

  I was one of the few privileged who were able to see this doco during the Berlin Film Festival, as tickets for it's screenings were sold out almost immediately after the ticket counters opened. The story about 3 young siblings who decide to use their artistic talents (dancing & singing) in order to earn enough money to prevent their family's deportation out of Germany touched a soft spot with local festival goers. Just the same way as it puts away all clichés about immigrant youth, Neukölln Unlimited goes beyond every cliché of a documentary film. In its cinematic style (dramatic animations, fantastic music, fulminant editing, a great story and 3 very charming main characters) it resembles more a modern-day Cinderella-story than an old-school documentary. Thankfully so. The film even managed to win a well-deserved Crystal Bear award. To put it in the words of the Berlinale-jury: "This movie is a sole, wonderful choreography that leaves us breathless but not silent." I couldn't describe it better.