With Berlin Alexanderplatz, Burhan Qurbani has adapted Alfred Döblin’s classic novel from 1929 and turned it into a modern gangster epic full of electrifying images and scenes transformed. After the film unfortunately remained an insider tip when it was released in cinemas in 2020, you can now stream the three-hour-long masterpiece for free.
Gangster masterpiece: What is Berlin Alexanderplatz all about?
A variation on the novel, Qurbani’s adaptation revolves around the African refugee Francis (Welket Bungué), who comes to the German capital illegally.
Here he wants to make a living as a construction worker, where he meets the charismatic, opaque drug dealer Reinhold (Albrecht Schuch). Little by little Francis becomes engulfed by the shadowy world of Berlinwhile his love for the high-class prostitute Mieze (Jella Haase) is put to the hardest test.
What makes Berlin Alexanderplatz a modern masterpiece?
The director tells his film as an overlong epic bitter realism and captivating genre elements transformed into a visually stunning metropolitan symphony. As a three-hour tour de force, Berlin Alexanderplatz impresses not only with the main actor but also with two stars in supporting roles.
Jella Haase finally leaves Chantal from Fack ju Göhte behind as a self-confident prostitute. In addition, Albrecht Schuch excels in the role of the equally frightening and seductive Reinhold secret star of the masterpiece.
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