L'insaisissable

Know right from the start that NO PLACE TO GO is definitely NOT the kind of film likely to have a lot of appeal to most western filmgoers. And if you're looking for "the feel-good film of the year," THIS ISN'T IT! It's a hard-hitting tragedy, the type of film that Hollywood greenlighters can't reject FAST enough.

The film is based on the late stages of the life of director Oskar Roehler's mother, prominent German novelist (and devout Leninist) Giseta Elsner. The story begins with the fall of the Berlin wall and the end of Communism in Germany -- events that sent her personal and professional life into a tailspin (her novels had always sold better in communist East Germany than in her native West). She comes across uncannily as a real-life Norma Desmond (from SUNSET BOULEVARD) -- a self-indulgent once-prominent woman with garish tastes who is fighting a losing battle with a major mid-life crisis. For Desmond, the advent of talking pictures meant no roles to play; for Giseta Elsner, the fall of East Germany meant -- no place to go. She tried resettling in the new Berlin, but found herself to be an anachronism who just didn't fit in at all.

Hannelore Elsner (no relation to the real-life character) gives a performance that's every bit as convincing as Gloria Swanson's was as Desmond. And if you're a fan of black-and-white cinematography, I can't recommend Haden Bodganski's work here highly enough (it'll NEVER survive the transition to the small screen, trust me). Like I said, the film is definitely not for everyone, but it's one that I plan to tell a couple of film scholars with whom I have occasional contact with to check out.

The premise of this movie is a little silly, that a spoiled 50 year old Leninist writer living in West Germany finds her life unraveling due to the fact that the Berlin Wall has just come down. It's a little far fetched, but not entirely unbelievable. Like the flip side of "it's an ill wind", in this case it would be "it's a rare wind that doesn't blow somebody ill".

And I suppose it's pretty obvious that Hanna Flanders is meant to represent and symbolize the badly faded beauty of communism. But this didn't have much resonance for me.

All that political stuff aside, this was an extremely episodic movie. And unfortunately, most of the episodes just fell flat. One or two were engaging, and one, the one involving her spending the night with her horribly alcoholic ex-husband, was both pointless and extremely ugly, almost unwatchable.

The upside is that this was an extremely well crafted movie, apart from the screenplay. The cinematography, acting, directing, were all first rate. It's a pity they were wasted on a screenplay that was as cold, flat and ugly as the old regime it was directed against.

Another positive aspect is that the whole syndrome/complex of someone trying to use drugs to cope with reality and maintain an emotional equilibrium was well observed. And the fact that it was someone who should know better, an intelligent middle aged woman, was also useful. As shallow and self centered as Hanna is, I still felt some pity for her as a fellow human being.

Exposed by openness- as depicted by the collapse of the wall. High minded Marxist and high life beneficiary travels west but is rejected as a fake. Returning east the same fate befalls her, travelling back and forth she descends into madness as her rejections mount.Degraded and rejected by the east and west

Some brilliant depictions of humiliation as she tries to return a posh coat to a exclusive shop only to be told no

The acting is magnificent from Hannelore Elsner It's shot in black and white which adds to the power of the story

A brilliant and harrowing tale perhaps too inevitable in it's outcome but the chain smoking makes up for that

When the Berlin Wall is torn down in 1989, a left-wing author Hanna Flanders (Hannelore Elsner) is completely shocked and sees no future for herself without the DDR. She decides to move to Berlin to start over with her former lover but everything has changed so profoundly that she just cannot find her place in the world anymore.

Even though at first the movie seems like a primarily societal one, the politics provide only the backdrop for Hanna's personal journey and the examination of feelings of alienation in the modern world. The beautiful, classy black & white cinematography and the mise en scène emphasize Hanna's loneliness and the film focuses entirely on her. She meets a lot of people on her travels, both old friends and relatives as well as new acquaintances, but none of them stay in the picture for long and very few understand how she feels about the DDR or life in general. They all have different views on the events, thus providing a look into the minds of ordinary Germans of the era, so in the end the film does have a strong societal level too, despite the main attention being on personal feelings.

The character of Hanna Flanders is based on director Roehler's mother, German writer Gisela Elsner who committed suicide in 1992, so I can imagine the film having been a very personal project for Roehler. Luckily his strong directorial style makes the story appealing to the general public too and not just to those familiar with Elsner's life and works. Hannelore Elsner (no relation to Gisela Elsner despite the name) also does a very convincing job in showing Hanna Flanders' emotions throughout the film. I think I can safely recommend No Place to Go to anyone who is into bleak, depressing portrayals of anxiety and loneliness, but the presentation of the social climate of the era should also fascinate those who are interested in the Division of Germany and the end of it.

I thought this movie was HILARIOUS! Yes, hilarious... not moving, not engaging, just comic in its cheap sleaziness! This is nothing but a pretentious pseudo-artistic film that tries to explore everything but adds up to zero. Everything about it suggests that this should be a some kind of modern film noir, but what it actually is -is a soap opera in black and white. The main character is a grotesque woman feeling sorry for herself (the reason is exploited on a very shallow basis), lacks any trace of development and abides in pointlessness and pathos. Did anybody give it a thought WHAT she actually was doing in Berlin? Here's the answer: She slept there 2 nights doing absolutely nothing, except for smoking and taking pills. Wasn't the goal to revive her career? The movie's aims are way too high. It tries to depict Hanna as a person, woman, artist, mother, daughter, lover, politician... but as there's not enough time (or ambition) to evolve that, the movie wastes itself. Oh, and the "love scene" with her ex is just repulsing! I laughed seeing the first scene, seeing her smoking two cigarettes simultaneously - that was so ridiculous so the tragedy just passed by, and I laughed at the silly ending... Die Unberührbare (The Untouchable) - I don't think so...