The new film from Helmut Dietl

Twenty-five years after his cult TV series, Kir Royal, director Helmut Dietl has now come released a sort of ?sequel? for the big screen. Zettl focuses on the high-flying career of a ruthless media man in Berlin. As satire, however, the frigid figures in Zettl fail to warm up to viewers. ... more more

GoetheInstitute

Damned to expertocracy

Friday 1 July, 2005

The end of democracy? Philosopher Peter Sloterdijk talks with Marius Meller about French revoltism, British phlegm and Europe's national hallucination chambers.
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Writers warn about Linkspartei

Friday 1 July, 2005

A group of German writers have signed a public condemnation against what it sees as dangerously populist sentiments behind the new 'Linkspartei'.
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Merkel's new middle

Wednesday 29 June, 2005

The Germany that makes the headlines is one of hedge-fund 'locusts' and burgeoning numbers of unemployed. Don't believe the hype: the upcoming German federal elections will be fought out in the middle. But unless the Germans stop expecting to be spoon fed by the state, and get proactive, little will be gained by a change of government. By Paul Nolte
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"Hottentots in tails"

Friday 17 June, 2005

Once decried as degenerate, then celebrated as the height of artistic expression, the Expressionist group "Die Brücke" has been viewed very differently by the various regimes of Germany's 20th century. A turbulent history. By Christian Saehrendt
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Friendly takeover

Wednesday 15 June, 2005

In response to the French 'no' to the European constitution, France's new Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin has proposed a new kind of union between France and Germany. Journalist and historian Gustav Seibt argues that this would be a disaster for Germany and insists that Europe be considered in a broader historical perspective.
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Rocking Istanbul

Monday 13 June, 2005

After winning the Golden Bear in Berlin for his last film "Head On", Fatih Akin has now made a documentary on Istanbul's music scene. A talk with Daniel Bax on the film "Crossing the Bridge", tour guides and Vikings, music divas and the responsibilities of critical acclaim.
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"Ceci n'est pas le vide"

Thursday 9 June, 2005

An encounter with the artist of transience Tino Sehgal who, together with painter Thomas Scheibitz, will represent Germany at the Venice Biennale which opens to the public on June 12. By Sebastian Frenzel
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Rebels who move the furniture

Wednesday 8 June, 2005

Polish cinemas are full of films by the younger generation of German filmmakers. Their common theme seems to be rebellion. Or, as Adam Krzeminski sees it, rebellion lite.
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"I can't live without Europe"

Friday 3 June, 2005

Both France and the Netherlands have rejected the European Constitution. German-Iranian author Navid Kermani reflects on what this means to him, as someone who wanted to become - or thought he was - a European.
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The Berlin Republic

Thursday 2 June, 2005

So cunning is history: The cornerstones of the Berlin Republic – the departure from the social market economy, the rediscovery of war, the mistrust of the state for its citizens, the historicisation of the Holocaust – were laid by the West German 68ers. An attempt by a member of the old German Federal Republic to come to terms with the country he lives in. By Arno Widmann
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Blue flower, where do you bloom?

Thursday 26 May, 2005

"Ideal Worlds" at Frankfurt's Schirn Gallery evokes a newfangled yearning for old-fashioned Romanticism with works by artists such as Peter Doig, David Thorpe, Kaye Donachie, and Christopher Orr. A sceptical excursion in the magical landscapes of contemporary art. By Wolfgang Ullrich
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Loveable losers in the Ruhrpott

Thursday 26 May, 2005

The surprising defeat of the SPD in the state elections in North-Rhine Westphalia has set a process in motion that will probably result in new federal leadership in Germany. Writer and comedian Frank Goosen describes in an interview what his fellow Ruhrpotters think about this, if anything at all.
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Leipzig's urban facelift

Wednesday 25 May, 2005

When diggers drove up to demolish a neo-classical building in Leipzig, the citizens took to the streets. The city's "building safeguard programme" was created to preserve Leipzig's architectural flair. But is it preserving the wrong buildings? By Dankwart Guratzsch
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The New Hebrews

Friday 20 May, 2005

The exhibition "The New Hebrews: A Century of Art in Israel" opens today in Berlin's Martin-Gropius-Bau. By Peter von Becker (Image: Reuven Rubin, Self Portrait with Flowers, 1922. © Reuven Rubin)
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A genocide denied

Wednesday 11 May, 2005

Turkish society flatly refuses to recognise the atrocities committed against the Armenians. This has catastrophic implications for Turks in Germany. By Zafer Senocak
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