Horst_In_Translation Review of The Architects

The Architects (1990)

Pretty bleak East German movie that comes short in terms of being the character study it aspires to be

[4/10 · 20 February 2019]

"Die Architekten" or "The Architects" is an East German film from 1990, so this one is already almost 30 years old and it was directed by Peter Kahane (probably his most known career effort), who is also one of several writers working on this film that runs for slightly over 100 minutes, so not a really long or short film for a full feature. If you know a bit about German history, then you will immediately think reading the year 1990 that this was very late for a film from the GDR because this was way after the Fall of the Berlin Wall. And you would be correct. So it should not be surprising by any means that this movie is far from supporting the political system of the country it is from. You could say it is a bit daring and bold and it is probably true, even if I would say calling it "brave" may be a bit too much. But I don't really want to write anything else about the political context. Lets focus on the film itself because it also does not really try too hard to make a political impact. It aspires more to be a character study. But sadly it is not a very good one. It is perfectly fine that the characters all come off as pretty bleak and emotionless if that is the idea behind the approach, but if you take that route, then you need to deliver in other departments like for example be devastating, depressing or sobering. But I would not really use any of these adjectives to describe this movie. The emotional component I would have liked here is virtually non-existent and the actors do not really succeed in elevating the mediocre material either. So I am actually surprised that this movie did not feel much longer than it actually was. The only thing remotely interesting here is the idea of architecture that is a bit of not just controversial, but actually contradictory to create something new from zero in a country that is about to turn to zero and stop existing. But enough with politics now. As for the cast, even I as a German film buff struggled to really recognize any of the cast members here from their names or faces. This includes lead actor Naumann too I must say, may he still rest in peace. Funnily enough, Judith Richter is a contender for most known cast member now as she really managed to transform from the child actress she was back then into a respected grown-up actress for quite a while now. Oh yeah, Jörg Schüttauf is also in this one, so he is certainly more known than Richter, one of the most successful actors from the GDR these days and one of not too many who really managed to keep their career going in united Germany after the reunification. Now we are drifting a bit away again, back to this film. All in all, I must say I expected something better judging from the rating here. There may be a bit of personal bias, but definitely not all. I give this film a thumbs-down. not recommended.