Top 5: Best in German Cinema in 2010

[Editor’s note: I’ve asked our team of world film correspondents to dish out their top 5 films of the year from their respective countries. Here’s Thomas Taborsky’s take on the Best of Germany in 2010.]

An entire year’s worth of production, however the piece of German cinema that left the biggest mark on 2010 was, strictly speaking, a TV mini series: In Face of the Crime, a ten-part epic about the Russian mob in Berlin, was at the center of attention, and director Dominik Graf received praise wherever he went. Word was of a reinvention – one German cinema is in need of, considering these twelve months were mostly about known topics, known ways of dealing with them and known players – even if the best continued to perform strongly, which also holds true with thesps like Sibel Kekilli (in the country’s Academy Award contender When We Leave) and Moritz Bleibtreu (as Joseph Goebbels in Jew Suss: Rise and Fall). But now, let’s talk about this year’s mixed bag of standout movies:

#5. Wallace Line
Franz Müller makes the most of the constellation of two single parents falling in love, ensued by their kids doing the same, which in turn throws the adults’ feelings for each other into turmoil. Backed by a refreshing montage style, the film stays away from both the melodramatic and the soapy. The non-verbal level cleverly stresses or contradicts the dialogues, creating a fine interplay of both.

#4. Rammbock
The Commoners’ Apocalypse. Even with all the virus-struck people raging inside that block of flats, director Marvin Kren’s and writer Benjamin Hessler’s feature debut has down-to-earth qualities. Balancing relationship threads and horror, it’s fun to see the genre conventions being put to such good use. And to see a film play with space so cleverly.

3. Dancing Dreams – Teenagers Perform ‘Kontakthof’ by Pina Bausch
It may be formally unspectacular, but that doc truly adpoted all the enthusiasm of its protagonists, kids and pro instructors alike. It also aptly fulfilled the task of being a testament to the work and philosophy of late modern dance artist Pina Bausch by showing her impact on others, even when not present. That ‘Pina’s coming today…’ announcement which made everyone on stage panic was one of the most vibrant cinematic moments this year.

2. Three
My feelings about Tom Tykwer’s work have always been very mixed, but this time he swiftly pulls off several films as one, including a cynical comedy. Covering the framework with layers of thematic chocolate coating to just pull away or savor in discussions, Three is a piece of architecture as well as modern dance theater. Acting is prime, Sophie Rois nothing less than exceptional.

1. Autumn Gold
Call it a blessed movie: Jan Tenhaven found himself most colorful protagonists for his doc about athletes 80 and over. Leading up to their World Championships, he not only knows how to connect their stories, but also how to make one feel, laugh and shed a tear with them. The tension he builds up towards the event culminates in gorgeous slow motion studies of these men and women in the moment of supreme effort.