Plätze in Städten (Places in Cities), Angela Schanelec, Alemania, 1998, 117'
Scenes from the life of a nineteen-year-old schoolgirl in Berlin looking for a place for herself somewhere between secondary school and her friends, disappointments in love and the painful separation of her mother. When she returns pregnant from a school trip to Paris, things become worse with no sign of a solution in the near future. In prolonged scenes, the silent and contemplative film absorbs the atmosphere of its setting in order to describe the experiences of the young woman in an environment devoid of love with both subtlety and sensitivity. The rigorous austerity of the film’s design demands patience and receptivity, but this later adds intensity to a narrative clarity that is very far removed from the typical film constructs.
Scenes from the life of a nineteen-year-old schoolgirl in Berlin looking for a place for herself somewhere between secondary school and her friends, disappointments in love and the painful separation of her mother.