Sommer vorm Balkon (2005)

Director:

Andreas Dresen

Writer:

Wolfgang Kohlhaase (writer)

Release Date:

5 January 2006 (Germany)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Andreas Dresen's tragicomic movie focuses on two women and their daily struggle for survival during a summer in Berlin...

Plot Keywords:

Attic | Truck Driver | Booze | Friend | Waitress

Awards:

7 wins & 7 nominations

Cast

Inka Friedrich	...	Katrin Engel
Nadja Uhl	...	Nicole 'Nike' Pawelsky
Andreas Schmidt	...	Ronald
Stephanie Schönfeld	...	Tina
Vincent Redetzki	...	Max
Christel Peters	...	Helene
Kurt Radeke	...	Oskar
Hannes Stelzer	...	Herr Neumann
Lil Oggesen	...	Charly
Maximilian Moritz	...	Rico
Veit Schubert	...	Apotheker
Fritz Roth	...	Chef Puppenfirma
Traute Höss	...	Chefin Agentur (as Traute Hoess)
Olaf Burmeister	...	Vorzimmermann
Herbert Olschok	...	Bewerbungspartner
Dr. Lutz Ockhardt	...	Bewerbungstrainer
Barbara Bachmann	...	Helenes Tochter
Goetz Schulte	...	Galerist (as Götz Schulte)
Frank Seppeler	...	Mann in Diskothek
Anne Bulling	...	Ärztin Notaufnahme
Dr. Ute Keller	...	Leiterin Suchtklinik
Manuela Fritzsche	...	Chefin Pflegedienst
Manfred Hille	...	Unfallfahrer
Hans-Ulrich Laux	...	Trucker
Olaf Sommerfeld	...	Schuhverkäufer
Mario Pokatzky	...	Kollege Messebau
Marko Schmidt	...	Einbrecher
Matthias Walter	...	Einbrecher
Frank Fietze	...	Kumpel von Ronald
Carola Kirschnick	...	Chefin Kneipe
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Axel Prahl	...	Kneipengast

Directed by
Andreas Dresen

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Wolfgang Kohlhaase		writer

Produced by
Stefan Arndt	....	producer
Jutta Frech	....	executive producer
Peter Rommel	....	producer

Original Music by
Pascal Comelade

Cinematography by
Andreas Höfer

Film Editing by
Jörg Hauschild

Production Design by
Susanne Hopf
Natalja Meier

Production Management
Thomas Mulack	....	HD project manager: Schwarz Film Berlin GmbH

Sound Department
Anja Bause	....	foley mixer
Fanny Hermsdorf	....	sound re-recording mixer assistant (as Sabine 'Fanny' Hermsdorf)
Ralf Krause	....	sound re-recording mixer
Carsten Richter	....	foley artist
Martin Rogalski	....	foley editor
Peter Schmidt	....	sound
Oswald Schwander	....	sound designer
Aaron Zeller	....	adr boom operator
Michael Gerbes	....	sound re-recording mixer assistant (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
René Jakob	....	digital effects artist
Juliane Schaloske	....	visual effects project manager (as Juliane Haack)
Olaf Skrzipczyk	....	visual effects supervisor
Norman Struwe	....	digital effects artist
Nhat Quang Tran	....	digital effects artist
Ralf Wacker	....	digital intermediate supervisor

Stunts
Armin Sauer	....	stunt coordinator

Camera and Electrical Department
Georg Nonnenmacher	....	gaffer

Other crew
Skady Lis	....	business and legal affairs
Andro Steinborn	....	head of business and legal affairs

Production Companies

• Peter Rommel Productions
• X-Filme Creative Pool

Distributors

• D Street Releasing (2007) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Filmcoopi Zürich (2006) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Océan Films (2006) (France) (theatrical)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (Switzerland) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (Germany) (DVD)
• X Verleih AG (2006) (Germany) (theatrical)
• X-Filme Creative Pool (2007) (USA) (theatrical)
• X-Filme Creative Pool (2005) (worldwide) (all media)

Special Effects

• Exozet Effects (visual effects)

Other Companies

• Pictorion_das Werk  digital laboratory

Also Known As:

Summer in Berlin (International: English title)

Runtime:

Canada:105 min (Toronto International Film Festival) | Argentina:105 min | Canada:105 min | USA:107 min

Country:

Germany

Language:

German

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Germany:12 | Argentina:13

Filming Locations:

Berlin, Germany

Company:

Peter Rommel Productions

Trivia:

In the scene in which Nike and Ronald take Max to the bar the man sitting in front of the window is Axel Prahl, one of director Andreas Dresen's favorite actors. Prahl has been in all of Dresen's non-documentary films from Nachtgestalten (1999) to Sommer vorm Balkon (2005).

Soundtrack:

Er gehört zu mir

"Summer in Berlin" and so it is

Saw this one when it played at the Chicago festival in October. Two gals share a friendship over a summer. And over a summer they change and the friendship changes. Things occasionally stray into melodramatic territory, but fine performances all around, especially by the two female leads, make for a pleasantly watchable movie. The day to day struggles of the leads provide not-so-subtle political subtext about tough times in post-unification Germany.

Andreas Schmidt's subdued portrayal of an underemployed trucker provides a contrast to his more exuberant performance in a similarly blue-collar role in "Guys and Balls."