Berlin: First of May (1. Mai)
Directors: Jan-Christoph Glaser, Carsten Ludwig, Sven Taddicken, and Jakon Ziemnicki
Review by Robert Sabetto

Berlin: First of May is a collaborative effort that follows four young men through Kreuzberg in Berlin on May Day, a tense day of protest and anarchy.  Each of them is dealing with his own problem.  For Uwe (Benjamin Hoppner), a cop charged with the task of patrolling the streets, it’s his cheating wife.  We see her only once as she gets out of her 18-year old lover’s car as Uwe leaves for work in the morning.  For militant pre-pubescent Yavuz (Cemal Subasi), it’s convincing his older brother Nebi, along with everyone else, that he’s a badass.  For small town boy Pelle (Ludwig Trepte), it’s facing—- or perhaps escaping—- the gruesome deed he committed earlier that morning.  For Pelle’s buddy, whose name is not mentioned (my bad for missing it), it’s loosening up.  It seems he might, just maybe, have a crush on Pelle.

The action zig-zags back and forth between three segments centered on Uwe, Yavuz, and Pelle and his buddy.  Tension is in the air as the characters each take action to confront or at least deal with their problems.  Uwe seeks solace in a brothel.  Yavuz meets Harry, a middle-aged anarchist still living back in the day.  Pelle and friend toss a bottle into the crowd to liven things.  They cross paths as they make seemingly minor choices that don’t turn out as expected...not at all.  Things get dicey, and all four end up at the same hospital.  A television announcer proclaims this particular May Day to be “the most peaceful demonstration in years.”  Not so for our four dudes, each of whom comes to realize the horrible reality of what he (or in Pelle’s buddy’s case, what his best friend) is capable of and its consequences.   

*Berlin: Mai 1* meanders a bit at times, especially the sequence with Pelle and his friend.  Despite that, it remains thoroughly gripping and is never predictable.  It sucks you in from the beginning and keeps you glued because you really don’t see anything coming.  The tension in each segment is palpable and never quite dissipates.  The choice of characters is clever, and so are many of the parallels between the three threads.  Irony is woven throughout this film, and ironically enough, the most meandering segment was the most interesting.  This is probably because Pelle’s story unfolded strangely and culminated in the most bizarre and unexpected twist.  This one is well worth seeing.