By Samantha Machado, Film/Music Writer
The Opening Night of the German Currents Festival 2017 at the American Cinematheque was splendid and fun. There were of course the nice red carpet, the flash and glitter of Hollywood and the precise timing of the Germans, the show started on time. Its inclusiveness is very much in contrast to what we are experiencing in Hollywood at this moment, check that, what women have always experienced in Hollywood. It could be that because most of the funding comes from the foundations eager to support film as a cultural emissary than as a product to be sold.
The opening night film, “Tiger Girl,” felt like a Jessica Jones episode, but with more nudity and rough language, but it is German, so what is so shocking about that? The story centers around a mousy young woman who is trying to join the police because it could be fun and cool. As she is ostracized by the men who she would be working with, she finds guidance from Tiger, a young, free wheeling, homeless girl, who feels that being too polite is like doing violence to one self. The story shows the danger of unguided and unleashed anger, however Director and Co-Writer Jakob Lass’ effort to create a super hero type character does not quite hit the mark, making the police the target, does not make a violent street fighter a hero, even if it’s a young woman finding her way. What is intriguing is to observe the moments when the moral compass of Tiger begins to present itself among the chaos and violence of her life, there is a sense of structure to her anarchy and that is right on the money.
The beauty about this film is that it is not an attempt to present the what young adults, but specifically these two characters, what their life might be like in Berlin in a world that most of us don’t understand or want to experience, but is as real as any other in cinema.
Samantha Machado is the Accelerator Program Coordinator at the South Eastern European Film Festival, a Film Instructor at LA School for Global Studies and a Talent/Producer/Writer for Open Perspective Media LLC reach her at Samantha@openperspectivemedia.com
