This Ain't California (2013)

Lack of good storyline.

Fantastic!

It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

"This Ain't California" is a 100-minute documentary from 2012, so this one has its 5th anniversary this year. Do not be fooled by the English title as this one is a German production in the German language. Writer and director of this one we have here is Marten Persiel and it is also his only work as a filmmaker, at least by now. He received some awards attention for it, not just at the German Film Festival, but even in the United States. I personally do not really share the praise though. I believe it is a somewhat interesting reminiscence by the characters involved in here, but I feel as if that's it basically. It is about skateboarders from the GDR and how their approach to this activity was pretty much not really conform with the ideals and basic concepts of the GDR. On a weak note, I thought the people in here were almost all interchangeable really and honestly I think they were too full of themselves at times. One example would be when they talk about GDR citizens watching them and how they see their own unfulfilled desires in these skateboard activities. This is incredibly exaggerated and over the top and there are more moments like these to be honest. The attempts of the filmmaker and the people in it to add relevance to the project did not work out well at all and I had to cringe at times. Apart from that, the film still stays too irrelevant and too personal at times where I would say that this is only a good watch for relatives and friends of the people we see in here. I may be a bit biased as I have never been into skateboarding at all, but I think that these 100 minutes are nothing that will motivate you to buy a skateboard and also it will not really get you curious into life at the GDR if you haven't been curious before watching this one. And if you have, then I feel that it will teach you very little new, if anything at all. I give this one a thumbs-down and I think Persiel's lack of experience clearly shows in here. Then again, the subject as a whole may not have been a great choice to be honest. In any case I am not curious about his future works if there will be any at all that is. Watch something else instead.

I am sorry, but upon seeing this I had the suspicion it couldn't be quite accurate and by later finding out it probably is a complete fabrication, scripted and acted out, I was feeling played with and lied to. Who likes that? I would think not a great deal of people. A simple information at the beginning that the story and the material are mostly fictitious would have prepared the viewer that he was watching something of an idealized, wanna be past, that did not happen as presented at all.I hope those filmmakers will not continue in making "documentaries" but use their imagination more accordingly in different settings. Better luck next time. For a mockumentary it just isn't funny or interesting enough.

I grew up in the former GDR (East Germany) and I am about the same age as the skaters in the movie.There have been quite a few movies about that time. None got it right in my opinion. Some portrait it as a dull place - some exaggerated it as a comedy. So, this movie about the Skater scene in East Germany is very close to how life was at the time (as far as I can trust my memories). It is a movie about young people that share the passion for skateboarding. They have to live with the boundaries of the GDR.Also interesting, it tells a clear story but on the other hand it is a documentary as well.Besides, I also liked how the movie is made. The pictures, the music, the cuts, ... it simply fits.

I saw this film last night at the Palm Beach International Film Festival. As a passionate fan of anything related to Germany, I figured I'd enjoy it, and I did. The film revolves around a group of old friends who have gathered to reminisce about one who recently died. The deceased was the central and most popular figure in East Germany's emerging skate culture in the 1980s.The film's story is told by the friends in personal interviews and with period film clips. Some of the clips are grainy or out of focus, which is understandable, given the time period and the difficulty of obtaining good quality cameras and film in East Germany. Rather than distracting, these clips give the film its authenticity. Life in East Germany was hard, as the friends make clear. Having never lived there, it's difficult to imagine the restrictions (e.g., skateboarding was considered an anti-Socialist activity) they constantly had to deal with.The story is told with a mixture of humor and sadness, and it was thoroughly enjoyable throughout. It is a remarkable piece of filmmaking, never less than engrossing. The closeness and camaraderie evident among the friends will almost make viewers feel they are part of the story. My spirits rose and fell with them as the details emerged. The film's most important fact is not revealed until a few minutes before the end.The film is also accompanied by an excellent soundtrack featuring a wide range of genres from techno pop to speed metal. Each tune is appropriately matched to the action in the film. Stay through the closing credits, because the song director Marten Persiel chose to play over them is a perfect summation of what you have just seen. Don't be surprised if you get misty. If this movie comes to a local theater, I will see it again, and I will definitely buy the DVD when it's released.