A Coffee in Berlin
| Oh Boy | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Jan-Ole Gerster |
| Starring |
Tom Schilling Marc Hosemann Friederike Kempter |
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Release date
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Running time
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83 min |
| Country | Germany |
| Language | German |
Oh Boy is a 2012 German tragicomedy film directed by Jan-Ole Gerster. It is in black-and-white. It is the director's debut film, and thesis project for the German Film and Television Academy in Berlin. In 2014, the film was released in the US under the title A Coffee in Berlin.
Niko tries to sneak out of his girlfriend's apartment before she wakes, but has to tell her that he will not be back that evening because he has some vague things to do. She offers coffee, but he says he is late already. He moves boxes into a new apartment, looking through old photos, and checks his mail. He opens an official letter and realizes he is late for an appointment.
The appointment is with a state psychologist, as Niko was caught driving under the influence. In this interview Niko says he has dropped out of law school. The psychologist messes around with Niko, asks him if he is gay, insecure about his short stature, about the relationship to his parents altogether leading questions, ultimately deciding not to give him back his license, as he deems Niko unstable.
When he goes to buy coffee in a fashionable coffeeshop, he doesn't have enough money. After giving what little money he has to a sleeping beggar, the ATM eats his card, so he tries to take the money back but a passerby spots him appearing to steal from the homeless. Niko leaves a message for his father to help him with his bank card situation. Niko's lonely neighbour brings him a house warming gift and invites himself into the apartment. The man talks about his personal problems and eventually weeps, while Niko awkwardly consoles this stranger.
Niko and his friend Matze, a failed actor, head to a pub for lunch where Niko orders a coffee, but the machine is broken. A former classmate named Julika recognizes Niko, and joins the table. Niko does not recognize her, an attractive, slender woman, as she was overweight in school. She says she left that school for a boarding school after a suicide attempt because she was teased for being fat. She insists she had a crush on Niko at age 13. She has become an avant-garde dancer and invites both Niko and Matze to a play that she is performing in later that night.
The boys go to a movie set, where Matze's friend is the main actor playing a Nazi officer in WW2 in love with a Jewish woman he shelters in his basement. They hang out in his trailer, and Matze asks whether he might be able to play a small role in the film. While on the set, Niko's father returns Niko's call; Niko says he's in the library studying. His father invites him to play golf.
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