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This Is Not Berlin

Name: This Is Not Berlin
Director: Hari Sama
Released: 2019
Duration: 115 min

Representation Score

6.6/10

Good

2019

Not Rated

Director

Hari Sama

Runtime

115 minutes

Average Rating

No ratings yet

New Showbiz Analysis

This Is Not Berlin is a sophisticated character study that disrupts the standard coming-of-age genre. By placing a Southeast Asian protagonist within a queer, underground European context, the film challenges traditional hierarchies of identity and geography. The film effectively uses the metropolitan landscape to explore themes of displacement and existential malaise. It moves beyond including someone from a minority group without giving them real depth by making the protagonist's search for identity the central engine of the plot. While the film excels in exploring the intersection of identity and geography, it focuses more on the fluidity of the individual experience than on dismantling specific social or gendered power structures.

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Category Breakdown

Does This Is Not Berlin have LGBTQ+ representation?

Excellent

The film centers its narrative on the protagonist's immersion into Berlin's underground queer nightlife. This setting allows for a nuanced exploration of identity through sexual freedom and non-traditional gender roles.

How does This Is Not Berlin portray gender?

Good

The story disrupts traditional hierarchies by focusing on personal alienation rather than masculine archetypes. However, it prioritizes identity fluidity over the direct subversion of specific gendered power dynamics.

How racially and ethnically diverse is This Is Not Berlin?

Good

Featuring a Southeast Asian protagonist in a Western European landscape, the film offers a significant departure from Anglo-centric perspectives. This combination of immigrant experience and queer identity adds depth.

How does This Is Not Berlin represent religion and culture?

Good

The narrative prioritizes individual autonomy and secular exploration over traditional religious or institutional values. It portrays urban environments as sites of isolation rather than social cohesion.

Does This Is Not Berlin include disability representation?

Minimal

There is no significant evidence regarding the portrayal of physical or neurodivergent disabilities within the film's narrative.

Present on Screen

Combines Southeast Asian identity with queer subcultures for a strong multi-layered focus.
Avoids including someone from a minority group without giving them real depth by centering the entire narrative on LGBTQ+ nightlife and sexual freedom.
Challenges Anglo-centric cinematic norms through its protagonist's background and displacement.

Limited or Absent

Lacks direct subversion of specific gendered power dynamics within the narrative.
Provides no visible representation or engagement with disability themes.

Official Synopsis

Seventeen-year-old Carlos doesn't fit in anywhere, not in his family nor with the friends he has chosen in school. But everything changes when he is invited to a mythical nightclub where he discovers the underground LGBTQ nightlife scene: punk, sexual liberty and drugs.

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