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Berlin Alexanderplatz

Play trailer 2:14 Poster for Berlin Alexanderplatz 2021 3h 3m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
47% Tomatometer 19 Reviews 67% Popcornmeter Fewer than 50 Ratings
An African immigrant struggles to make a new life for himself in the big city in director-co-writer Burhan Qurbani's (We Are Young. We Are Strong.) audacious, neon-lit reinterpretation of Alfred Döblin's 1929 novel. After surviving his perilous journey, Francis vows to be a good man, but he soon realizes how difficult it is to be righteous while undocumented in Germany -- without papers, without a nationality, and without a work permit. When he receives an enticing offer for easy money from the psychopathic gangster Reinhold (Albrecht Schuch), Francis initially resists temptation, but eventually he is sucked into Berlin's underworld and his life spirals out of control.

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Berlin Alexanderplatz

Berlin Alexanderplatz

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Critics Consensus

Berlin Alexanderplatz is ambitious and well-intentioned, but once the potent atmosphere settles and the contemporalities of the adaptation wear off, the movie disillusions.

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Critics Reviews

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Nicolas Rapold New York Times 04/30/2021
[Qurbani]'s "Berlin Alexanderplatz" is a nice place to visit but you might not want to live there for three hours. Go to Full Review Deborah Young The Hollywood Reporter 02/29/2020
A heavy-handed re-imagining. Go to Full Review Jessica Kiang Variety 02/26/2020
The episodic, sometimes almost soap-operatic nature of Qurbani's storytelling sacrifices a great deal of thematic depth for a great deal of eventing instead. Go to Full Review Erick Estrada Cinegarage 07/18/2023
A different interpretation that attacks the same economic system... [Full review in Spanish] Go to Full Review Witney Seibold Critically Acclaimed Podcast 09/14/2021
The epic crime tale reduced to a mere three hours leaves a lot to be desired. Go to Full Review Gary M. Kramer San Francisco Bay Times 08/26/2021
Berlin Alexanderplatz crackles because Welket Bungué is magnetic in the central role. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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02/10/2022 Despite being unfamiliar with the original source material, I really enjoyed this modern take. The acting was absolutely fantastic, especially Albrecht Schuch's performance as Reinhold, and the pacing kept me on the edge of my seat. I didn't know that the film was three hours but the story and characters kept me engrossed every minute. Watch this film for a wild ride! See more florent m @FlorentMagnoac 12/21/2021 Something of a modern odyssey. A little all over the place at times but interestingly navigating dark waters of human contemporary life. The first 10 minutes are visually stunning with a poetic approach and a sense of style and then reality hits you. It has all along a notable direction and the movie, a bit repetitive in its construction and scenes arrangement but never really feels like a 3 hours movie as it stand deeply immersive and with good characters. Something of an experience with is already better than just a simple movie. See more 09/09/2021 Yes, it's a bit too long, but compensates that by the amazing atmosphere. It's also really engaging and suspenseful. See more 05/14/2021 a bit over the top, good story but could of been portrayed much better See more Read all reviews
Berlin Alexanderplatz

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Cast & Crew

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Burhan Qurbani

Director

Albrecht Schuch

Reinhold

Jella Haase

Mieze

Joachim Król

Pums

Welket Bungué

Francis

Nils Verkooijen

Berta

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Berlin Alexanderplatz

Berlin Alexanderplatz: Trailer 1 Berlin Alexanderplatz: Trailer 1 2:14 View more videos
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Berlin Alexanderplatz

Berlin Alexanderplatz (2020) Berlin Alexanderplatz (2020) Berlin Alexanderplatz (2020) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis An African immigrant struggles to make a new life for himself in the big city in director-co-writer Burhan Qurbani's (We Are Young. We Are Strong.) audacious, neon-lit reinterpretation of Alfred Döblin's 1929 novel. After surviving his perilous journey, Francis vows to be a good man, but he soon realizes how difficult it is to be righteous while undocumented in Germany -- without papers, without a nationality, and without a work permit. When he receives an enticing offer for easy money from the psychopathic gangster Reinhold (Albrecht Schuch), Francis initially resists temptation, but eventually he is sucked into Berlin's underworld and his life spirals out of control.
Director
Burhan Qurbani
Producer
Leif Alexis, Jochen Laube, Fabian Maubach
Screenwriter
Martin Behnke, Burhan Qurbani
Distributor
Kino Lorber
Production Co
Lemming Film, Entertainment One, Deutscher Filmförderfonds, Sommerhaus Filmproduktionen , Eurimages, Wild at Art, Arte, Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, Nederlands Filmfonds, Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (ZDF)
Genre
Drama
Original Language
Brazilian Portuguese
Release Date (Theaters)
Apr 30, 2021, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Jul 6, 2021
Runtime
3h 3m
Aspect Ratio
Scope (2.35:1)