Recommended books, films and CDs
A selection of interesting new titles by German writers, musicians and filmmakers.
Book: Anna Katharina Hahn, Das Kleid meiner Mutter
It is the summer of 2012 in Madrid, where the economic crisis is weighing heavily on the city’s inhabitants. Unemployed Anita moves back into her old childhood bedroom. But what support can she still expect after the sudden death of her parents? Das Kleid meiner Mutter (My Mother’s Dress) by author Anna Katharina Hahn is a fantastic story of generations and love at the time of the euro crisis.
Book: Maxim Biller, Biografie
No, Biografie (Biography) is not a non-fiction book. The author and columnist Maxim Biller has invented a grotesque story of blackmail and kidnap. Tied up in the plot are the best friends Soli and Noah, who share their roots, their humour and their bizarre sexual fantasies.
Film: Doris Dörrie, Greetings from Fukushima
Marie (Rosalie Thomass) travels to the Japanese prefecture of Fukushima to work as a clown and bring joy to the everyday lives of the survivors of the 2011 nuclear disaster. The young woman fails in her job, but stays – unexpectedly with stubborn old Satomi (Kaori Momoi), the last geisha of Fukushima. Following the success of Cherry Blossoms, film director Doris Dörrie returns to Japan and in Greetings from Fukushima tells a universally poetic story of life and release.
Film: Tom Tykwer, A Hologram for the King
German film director Tom Tykwer has produced A Hologram for the King, the filming of Dave Eggers’ novel of the same name, with a star cast: Tom Hanks plays the failed American businessman Alan Clay who wants to save himself from bankruptcy by travelling to Saudi Arabia to present a brilliant IT idea to the king.
CD, music: Jupiter Jones, Brüllende Fahnen
The album by Jupiter Jones with their new singer Sven Lauer marks a musical turning point: Brüllende Fahnen is the band’s sixth studio album and presents an energetic analogue sound full of post-punk and garage rock references. The Echo music award winners from the Eifel have thus taken a new stylistic direction.
CD, audio book: Benjamin von Stuckrad-Barre, Panikherz
Living like a rock star, crashing like a rock star: the writer Benjamin von Stuckrad-Barre remembers his heroes, such as Bret Easton Ellis, Courtney Love, Kurt Cobain, Marius Müller-Westernhagen and Helmut Dietl, during a phase of self-discovery at the legendary Chateau Marmont in Hollywood. Panikherz tells his story while also presenting an overview of the pop culture of the last 20 years.
