Moved
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Thanks a bunch,
Caner
After Berlinale
Last week was the film festival Berlinale. During this time a lot of films were shown around the Berlin cinemas. It is nice that big cities have such events. It gives you the opportunity to see films that you might otherwise not see. This means mostly low-budget films from foreign countries.
I was very excited about the Berlinale, but it became a bit annoying in the end. First of all getting tickets was too difficult. You had to line in for hours. To get a place you had to buy early, and when you bought early you couldn't get student discounts. Forget about group tickets anyway.
I like to watch blog busters these days because I have a prejudice about low budget films: they either suck or if they are good they make you deeply miserable. The worst is when they do both. A blockbuster on the other hand is based on a proven formula that aims to inject you with 2,5 hours of mindless fun, and sometimes they come with a good bonus, like an interesting plot or well played characters. You can only be posivively surprised in a blockbuster. Berlinale had a few of those, but most of the films seemed on the deppressive side. We did in the end see a Malaysian movie, which was like an amateur film student had taken it, and not a very experienced one. Poor intellectuals sitting there with us I guess had to dig deep into their analytical skills to find something meaningful and marvellous out of this one.
Anyway, when festivals come people seem to forget that there are good cinemas showing such films all year long. Anyway at least some people got to see George Clooney. Though you can also see Hollywood people in Berlin during premiers of films. If you want to make sure you don't miss the best of cinema while you live in Berlin get a house close to Potsdamer Platz. Yeah, that should do it.
New Year Buzz
I haven't written much here so far because I'm working on another huge project and it's sucking up all my precious time.
I was away in the south of germany for the Chritsmas and I must say that it feels nice once in a while to be in a small town where you can walk from one end to the other in about half an hour. It was nice, quiet and snowy. We were thinking that Berlin would have no snow, but we couldn't have been more wrong.
The day I had to return it was snowing in Berlin and the pile was getting higher by the minute. After an 8 hour train ride I had to drag my suitcase through slushy snow at the S-bahn stop in Warschauer Strasse (which I think is the most hideous station anywhere).
The next morning I was severely sick and had cramps all over my left shoulder. I had a blanket over me at all times walking from bed to kitchen, bed to bathroom and back. Anyway it was a bit nasty, and it ruined all my plans of capturing the essence of New Year celebrations in Berlin. I had planned to get to the centre of city where the major action is and take a gillion photos. I don't know if you ever witnessed a new year celebration in Germany but it's like a psychotic warzone, with fireworks and other small explosions all around and people in an ecstatic state. It was for me the closest I could get to any conflict zone journalism but I had to lie in my bed the whole time. In new year though I risked opening my window to watch some firworks but unfortunately I had no good view and my cheap camera doesn't take good motion pictures.
Anyway the new year was a bit lousy for me, and I hope it doesn't continue like it started. best wishes to everone else though for a healthy new year.
Saturday Market
Every saturday I try to go to the street market in our area to make a change from the low cost and low quality Lidl products that I usually buy. Today I got some Greek antipasti; cheese filled peppers and olives. The market is also a very good place to buy good cheese and fresh meat. There are also many bio-food sellers there, also known as hippies. This bio-product trend is a result of post-materialist societies who react to the supermarket culture. Supermarkets don't always sell fresh stuff, they use a lot of additives to prolong usability and pay the producers less. Bio is supposed to be healthier and more fair, but I'm not sure if it's anything more than a new market. Supermarkets also have their bio products these days anyway. Capitalism has a way of catching up with you.
Anyway, I can't afford to buy bio-products these days, since I'm close to broke, but it's nice to get some good food once in a while. It is also important to note here that developing countries think that Europe doesn't have lively markets, and one has to go to Marrakesh for instance to really get a flavour of the oriental/african market. This is however mostly based on a myth. It is true that German markets are more organized, cleaner and less quiet, but they certainly have a market culture; in which Turks are receiving a respectable place as good vegetable sellers.
The market I was at is near Grünbergerstrasse in lower Friedrichshein, which is mainly food but there is also some clothing and LP's etc. I heard of another market around Boxhagenerstrasse (also in the same area), but I was never there myself.
