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 21st
century romantic comedy film. The shots, cinematography and the editing looked
contemporary despite the 18th 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.
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