In 2015, thirty year old refugee Francis, the sole survivor of a boat that illegally crossed the Mediterranean, is drawn into Berlin's seedy underbelly.
Burhan Qurbani's adaptation of Döblin's novel is loud, physical and feverish, with a camera that stays close to faces and bodies. It runs close to three hours but never settles, pulling you into a current of hope, dependence and violence. Berlin appears as a restless, nocturnal city where nobody stands on firm ground.
Good for you if you like intense, dark city dramas with morally torn characters and can handle length and harshness.
Written with AI, based on TMDb data.