"Ökozid" is a new German television film that actually just premiered tonight, so this review is as fresh as it gets. Sadly, this film is not, but I will get to that later. First of all, the basics. The title means "Ecocide" of course and I still must admit that I had to check back if this word exists in English because the German term is one we almost never use here and that I don't think I have heard or read once despite how much climate change has been present in the headlines for years now. Soon decades. The movie runs for 1.5 hours and was directed and co-written by Andreas Veiel and while he is a prolific filmmaker and has been for a while, he almost exclusively has focused on documentaries so far. With one exception, but I guess that movie I liked more because of August Diehl than because of Veiel. And judging from what I saw during these really new 90 minutes, I must say that it may be best for Veiel to return to documentary filmmaking as soon as possible. Yes, it was this bad and uninspired. It may sound harsh, but it is true. However, it is no surprise really that Veiel had some pretty big names available here. I mean ARD prime time, a successful director and a really comfortable subject. That's why Becht, Kunzendorf, Selge and Tukur were on board I suppose. Also for Stromberg fans we got Eitner-Acheampong. She plays Angela Merkel. Yep. However, they made sure to include camera angles many times to make sure she looks like Merkel because obviously when you see the face, then you know it isn't her. But there is one crucial flaw already that comes from a totally different perspective. This film is set in 2035. Which means Merkel is over 80 then. And honestly, she looked younger than she does now in real life. I have no idea why nobody recognized that. Aging make-up anybody? Please. It's not that difficult. The real Merkel is depicted here and there as well through old footage, which once again brings in Veiel's preferred documentary genre I guess. For example once we see her when she is on a boat travelling to the ice together with Sigmar Gabriel to see herself what happened to the polar caps I suppose. Anyway, as for the other cast members. Tukur I found really forgettable, almost wasted here. Kunzendorf did very little for me too, even if her screen time increased in the second half. Becht was okay I suppose, but I am probably biased there because I think she is really attractive. And Selge plays the second central character next to Becht I guess and he was fine too, maybe because he was "only" the presiding judge from beginning to end and we do not really find out too much about his private life, background etc. Or maybe because I just like the actor. The cast list, as it is now here on imdb, is fairly confusing though because first credit goes to Agrawal, who is a really minor supporting performance only. Before the film I thought that after being in a successful German series, this was supposed to be his breakthrough film somehow, but nope. He is barely in it.
Now I will mention a few inclusions in terms of plot and story. One area where the film came really short is the pseudo drama approach that you find with ARD so many times. Two examples. We have a rushed-in bomb threat and there is really a bomb. This is fixed after a minute basically though. Next inclusion is about bullets being fired at Merkel's private mansion. Also gone after a minute. Really embarrassing. No elaboration on who did both things, if they get arrested etc. Instead the film only focuses on the court proceedings. The idea that those had been moved to Berlin from The Hague it was I think because of an ecological catastrophe in the Netherlands was already bizarre enough. Why? To justify that the judge speaks German? No idea, but they should have left it out completely. The court proceedings itself are as bland and boring as it gets too. I really did not care what the decision would be in the end. And Selge did not really manage to elevate the weak material often enough. Besides, you can certainly say that this is a very political movie. But not a quality thriller or anything the way America does it, but this being a political movie from Germany shown during prime shows a really sad state of things. Why? Because it has 100% the intention to get in a possibility into people's minds as a certainty. Not gonna go any deeper into detail about that. You know what I mean. As a consequence of that, the final decision by the court was no surprise either. Namely that they ruled in favor of the suing African countries. So basically this film intends to put pressure (in)directly on Merkel and the government to push forward with measures to keep climate change from getting any worse. Definitely not unexpected. The countries suing here also explain the presence of all these Black people there. Well, most of them. There were also court employees apparently that got the politically correct equality treatment. What else can I add? Ah yes. Merkel again. Is she still chancellor? This film does not go into detail about that. Let's be honest. She said a long time ago she won't run again (they must have knon when they made this film? it does not look like it too three years to make, especially as 90% of the film is set in one location) and she would be over 80 back then, so they could have made clear she is out. But no specific statements there. Then there are these scenes and inclusions to show us the film is set in the future. Be it digital applications, blinking lights on mini earphones etc. But it all felt kinda fake and for the sake of it. Same applies to the chat messages being exchanged. Same applies to Becht's character and her connections with a guy who may be a bit of a revolutionary etc. There is a lot more to say about this film, but I shall leave it at that. You get the general message. Completely aside from the specific contents, I find it sad that German politics films are so horrible compared to international productions. And as rare as you find a new sci-fi film here in my country, I would definitely say that it is better if stuff like this does not get made at all. Highly disappointing outcome. Definitely skip. Oh and I almost forgot about the Gerd mention in my title. This of course refers to Gerhard Schröder, the German chancellor before Angela Merkel and as unspecific as they are with her profession in 2035, as specific they are with Schröder still being alive and in Russia in 2035 at the age of over 90. Well, I doubt he could have saved this movie, but I would have liked to see him. Then again, if he was included and the way they would have handled it, I probably would not be too happy to actually see him then. For they messed up in every other department too. So it was good they forgot about his character and potential presence halfway into the film. The only good thing I can say here. Gotta dig really deep for a positive aspect here. Says it all.
Now I will mention a few inclusions in terms of plot and story. One area where the film came really short is the pseudo drama approach that you find with ARD so many times. Two examples. We have a rushed-in bomb threat and there is really a bomb. This is fixed after a minute basically though. Next inclusion is about bullets being fired at Merkel's private mansion. Also gone after a minute. Really embarrassing. No elaboration on who did both things, if they get arrested etc. Instead the film only focuses on the court proceedings. The idea that those had been moved to Berlin from The Hague it was I think because of an ecological catastrophe in the Netherlands was already bizarre enough. Why? To justify that the judge speaks German? No idea, but they should have left it out completely. The court proceedings itself are as bland and boring as it gets too. I really did not care what the decision would be in the end. And Selge did not really manage to elevate the weak material often enough. Besides, you can certainly say that this is a very political movie. But not a quality thriller or anything the way America does it, but this being a political movie from Germany shown during prime shows a really sad state of things. Why? Because it has 100% the intention to get in a possibility into people's minds as a certainty. Not gonna go any deeper into detail about that. You know what I mean. As a consequence of that, the final decision by the court was no surprise either. Namely that they ruled in favor of the suing African countries. So basically this film intends to put pressure (in)directly on Merkel and the government to push forward with measures to keep climate change from getting any worse. Definitely not unexpected. The countries suing here also explain the presence of all these Black people there. Well, most of them. There were also court employees apparently that got the politically correct equality treatment. What else can I add? Ah yes. Merkel again. Is she still chancellor? This film does not go into detail about that. Let's be honest. She said a long time ago she won't run again (they must have knon when they made this film? it does not look like it too three years to make, especially as 90% of the film is set in one location) and she would be over 80 back then, so they could have made clear she is out. But no specific statements there. Then there are these scenes and inclusions to show us the film is set in the future. Be it digital applications, blinking lights on mini earphones etc. But it all felt kinda fake and for the sake of it. Same applies to the chat messages being exchanged. Same applies to Becht's character and her connections with a guy who may be a bit of a revolutionary etc. There is a lot more to say about this film, but I shall leave it at that. You get the general message. Completely aside from the specific contents, I find it sad that German politics films are so horrible compared to international productions. And as rare as you find a new sci-fi film here in my country, I would definitely say that it is better if stuff like this does not get made at all. Highly disappointing outcome. Definitely skip. Oh and I almost forgot about the Gerd mention in my title. This of course refers to Gerhard Schröder, the German chancellor before Angela Merkel and as unspecific as they are with her profession in 2035, as specific they are with Schröder still being alive and in Russia in 2035 at the age of over 90. Well, I doubt he could have saved this movie, but I would have liked to see him. Then again, if he was included and the way they would have handled it, I probably would not be too happy to actually see him then. For they messed up in every other department too. So it was good they forgot about his character and potential presence halfway into the film. The only good thing I can say here. Gotta dig really deep for a positive aspect here. Says it all.
