"Der König von Köln", which means "The King of Cologne", is a German small screen release from 2019, actually very recent, just had its premiere 2 days ago I believe and this one runs for slightly under 1.5 hours and was written by Ralf Husmann and directed by Richard Huber. I must admit I am not too familiar with the latter, but Husmann has worked on some stuff I liked in the past and it is not the first time he collaborated with Huber, so I was kinda curious about their most recent project too. And it does not disappoint. Of course, Rainer Bock, who plays the title character, is always one to rely on to give a good performance and he also seems pretty effortless in doing so most of the time. I like him. Still I would say that Serkan Kaya feels almost more like the central character here despite the title, maybe because he is the good guy. I was not familiar with him before this film, reminded me physically a bit of the guy from Episodes, but he played his part well. Like basically everybody else. Joachim Król, in the past one of Germany's biggest movie stars, is in this one as well, but he does not have too much screen time and also disappears after like the first half hour or so. So being a fan of him is not really enough to check this one out. It's more about other actors and characters, even if his is still mentioned occasionally in the second half too. Won't go much deeper into detail about the cast here, even if maybe the old doll lady and the guy constantly talking to her (and even getting her a very expensive doll) would deserve a few lines too. By the way, anybody else wondered how the lady accepted the new doll immediately and also said something like she is much more expensive than the old one? I mean I really would have thought she had more of an emotional connection with the latter. But maybe that is just me. I know I would have.
Okay, as for the story now, you see from the title already that this is a very Cologne-focused film. Not just because it is set there, but the Cologne way of life is crucial at times. We sometimes get narration in Cologne dialect and constantly hear songs from band that originate from this area and these are really all about the comedy. So is this film. Yes crime plays a huge role here too, but this is never a drama whatsoever. Even when one character says she is a single mother and has no idea how she should bring up her kids now after being demoted feels at best awkward why she woult tell basically a complete stranger, but not touching or dramatic. Same for the chase scenes on the golf course near the end. We don't worry what happens to the guy if they catch him with the little book, but instead it is all for the entertainment value and really bizarreness of it all. We even see the guy who is on the run smile there because apparently it was a lot of fun. Or he was just happy he got away. So yes, overall on many occasions this is not a realistic movie, but it doesn't have to be because the good thing is it does not take itself one bit seriously all on all. So I think young aspiring filmmakers can definitely learn from this film and the screenplay here. I enjoyed the watch overall, the more the longer it went. I must say after the first 45 minutes I was not sold yet and not sure if I could give it a positive recommendation. But yeah, as long as you don't expect a big powerful statement on criminals in economy making fishy contracts with each other, then you will be fine. The lightness of it all despite serious references (not just the ones I already mentioned) prevails and I give it a thumbs-up. Probably especially worth seeing for people who actually come from Cologne, or at least live there. And if you enjoy carnival, that would be even better. But I am somebody who really despises carnival and I liked it nonetheless, so feel free to watch whatever your take on this spectacle is. Decent achievement all in all and it makes me curious about what Husmann's upcoming projects in the future. Go see it if you get a chance to, probably rather difficult outside of Germany and if you don't speak the language because admittedly with all the positive I mentioned, this is not a film that will really make big waves whatsoever and nothing about really stands out this much that people will still fondly remember it 10 years from now.
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