Vergiss Amerika (2000) User Reviews

Such a difficult life !!!!

[FilmCriticLalitRao · 7/10 · 7 August 2007]

A small East German town.Teenagers Benno,David and Anna dream of a big life a la Americaine.They are oblivious of the dreadful events happening in the course of their lives."Vergiss Amerika" succinctly exemplifies the primordial truth that no one is born a loser. Inescapable circumstances compel a person to feel despondent.Vanessa Joop's film reveals a recognizable facet of German Youth Culture where the kids are nice,smart,wholly captivated by the idea of making it big in their lives.Benno,Anna and David toiled steadfastly towards achieving that goal.Vergiss Amerika speaks a lot about the contemporary German life as it has handled ubiquitous topics like teenage aspirations,life in a small town and unemployment.It deftly reveals the inadequate economic progress made in East Germany.The economic situation is so bad that everyone is setting off to Berlin in order to achieve material success.Vergiss Amerika failed miserably at the German Box Office as it could not engross a nation of cinema lovers totally enchanted by American Cinema.This did not deter Vanessa Joop at all as her next film Engel & Joe was a big success at various International Film Festivals.

nice debut...

[rivera66_99 · 6/10 · 28 November 2000]

... of a hopeful directress, very authentic and with well-pointed characters. Finally, we have a German movie that shows young people just how they are, not like fashionable puppets. Agreeable too: the lack of exaggerated violence. The force of small gestures, or eye-looks, is much more impressive, sometimes! A problem of the movie is its over-constructed end; death as a dramatic vehicle is always a bad idea if it doesn't come out from the inner logic of tale. In my opinion, the "dramatic" points like the struggle between the friends or the "explosion" between Anna and David, are not well-reached either. But, after all: not that bad! Manuel Rivera

a mediocre movie due to a weak script

[andre-71 · 6/10 · 13 November 2000]

I liked some parts of the film, such as the realistic portrayal of todays East German life in a small town. But the story was just a little too straight - no surprises, no tension. Some real life problems were addressed, but mostly in a very chlichéed way. Interestingly, the element of complete nudity has only been used on a male actor, which was kind of surprising to me. But apart from the fairly good acting I consider this movie as rather mediocre. Obviously, the director only tried to practise standard techniques - hopefully for a better second movie.

Great Movie

[perthcomic · 10/10 · 20 March 2006]

One of the best foreign films I have seen in a long time. Happened to catch it on sbs late at night and was captivated by the performances. Great actors with a well thought out script. A really universal story that avoided colloquialisms that seem to be the sort of gimmick needed to get independent funding. Its a shame that the Australian film industry can't capture this sort of authenticity - this is the sort of film we should be making over here.

I don't know anything about the actors or directors involved, but I will definitely be seeking out more of their work in the future. The use of Soul Coughing's "True Dreams of Wichita" over the final credits was also perfection. See this movie. I loved it.

Nice young german cinema

[Selkar · 7/10 · 28 April 2002]

Fine acting and camerawork. The stroy might not have the great surprises and plot twists but it´s always fun to watch the poor nerd who is in love with the girlfriend of his best friend. The life in east germany is well portrayed, ok some cliches here there but who cares. The mainactress is so great and full of charism i can understand the two friends fall for her. Hopefully the whole young cast will have a great future. The end of the film is one of the best i´ve ever seen for a love story just this end is reason enough for at least once watch this great movie.