Cine Europa 14

Of late, I’ve been attending a lot of film festivals at the Shangri-La Plaza and the latest that I’ve been to was the Cine Europa 14, which is one of those film festivals wherein movie buffs line up for at least an hour just to secure free tickets to a screening. Thanks to the Goethe-Institut Philippinen, I was able to attend the invitation only screening of the opening film Goethe! which was Germany's entry to the film festival that featured 19 films from various European Union member nations along with Switzerland. Cocktails were served to the guests at the Atrium and I was able to have a brief chat to some of the people who organized the previous film festivals that I was able to attend during the past few months. And quite unexpectedly, the alcohol served that night got to me a lot sooner and I got a bit tipsy although I've only had a few glasses of wine. Soon after this, the guests were ushered towards the cinema to watch the film. I got very worried that I would not be able to fully understand the movie or I might do something that I might later regret doing because I realized that I was intoxicated. But somehow, this unexpected occurrence turned out for the best.

Goethe!

The film Goethe! is obviously about German writer Johann Wolfgang Goethe (Alexander Fehling) during his younger years and his love affair with Lotte Buff (Miriam Stein) that inspired the writing of his masterpiece The Sorrows of Young Werther. I guess that getting a bit drunk did help me in relating to the character of the young, brash and impulsive Goethe. If I were in my usual state of mind, I would’ve taken sides with the film’s antagonist instead, Albert Kestner (Moritz Bleibtreu) who was portrayed as old fashioned, boring and dull.

This was clearly a period film although it felt like it was actually a 21^st century romantic comedy film. The shots, cinematography and the editing looked contemporary despite the 18^th century setting. The movie didn’t seem like an accurate or an in depth depiction of Goethe focusing only on a love affair during his youth. But for me, I was able to connect to grasp the notion that falling in love (and the heartbeak that comes with it when it’s over) has resulted in masterpieces in literature and in other forms of art as well. The love between the two didn’t last that long but the The Sorrows of Young Werther has been read by people for centuries and will continue to be read for centuries to come. I didn’t know if it was the alcohol or the awesomeness of this fact that made my head swirl more when I realized this at the end of the film.

RAd with the some of the organizers and guests of Cine Europa 14

The Cine Europa 14 was presented by the European Union Member States’ embassies and consulates, Embassy of Switzerland, Delegation of the European Union to the Philippines, Shangri-La Plaza Mall, Arts Council of Cebu and Liceo de Cagayan de Oro as partner organizarions. It was supported by KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Yo Card and Click the City.com.