Sunday evenings on German TV always feature a Schnulze (i.e. kitschy) film on ZDF.
I am not sure what the Indian or American equivalent would be. A cross between Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi and Bold and the beautiful comes to mind, but neither comparison quite fits the bill.
These films are comforting like an old Agatha Christie novel. You know there will be a bit of drama, but everything is going to turn out alright in the end.
But what is peculiarly German about these films is that they don't usually take place in Germany (unless it in scenic Upper Bavaria), but almost always in Italy. Goethe's words about Italy ring true even today. Thousands of German tourists flock every year to Italy, the "land where the lemons bloom". The Sunday films are also a metaphor for this lure of the South.
What is also striking is that the films always play out in a background of incredible wealth. And that in this most egalitarian and democratic of countries, where the rich are unpopular!
Thinking through it maybe the German films have more in common with Bollywood films than one realises. If one sets aside the song and dance, Bollywood films do take place in exotic locales and feature well-to-do families. I am sure Hindi films would be big hits in Germany. But till that tíme there is always the ZDFSonntagsfilm. So enjoy!
Update: As SK points out, Bollywood films, especially Shah Rukh Khan's are, in fact, popular in Germany. A point confirmed by my finding a trove of DVDs of Bollywood films in the Munich public library.
I am not sure what the Indian or American equivalent would be. A cross between Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi and Bold and the beautiful comes to mind, but neither comparison quite fits the bill.
These films are comforting like an old Agatha Christie novel. You know there will be a bit of drama, but everything is going to turn out alright in the end.
But what is peculiarly German about these films is that they don't usually take place in Germany (unless it in scenic Upper Bavaria), but almost always in Italy. Goethe's words about Italy ring true even today. Thousands of German tourists flock every year to Italy, the "land where the lemons bloom". The Sunday films are also a metaphor for this lure of the South.
What is also striking is that the films always play out in a background of incredible wealth. And that in this most egalitarian and democratic of countries, where the rich are unpopular!
Thinking through it maybe the German films have more in common with Bollywood films than one realises. If one sets aside the song and dance, Bollywood films do take place in exotic locales and feature well-to-do families. I am sure Hindi films would be big hits in Germany. But till that tíme there is always the ZDFSonntagsfilm. So enjoy!
Update: As SK points out, Bollywood films, especially Shah Rukh Khan's are, in fact, popular in Germany. A point confirmed by my finding a trove of DVDs of Bollywood films in the Munich public library.
I am not sure whether you noticed, Bollywood films are obviously famous in Germany. Especially SRK. He has a huge fan base. If you want, just check for SRK in Berlin and Berlin film festival.
ReplyDeleteI had no idea. There are no Hindi films in Munich; obviously Berlin is different because it has a more international arts scene. I googled SRK and Berlin and the first hit was a Gala page on how SRK is shooting in Berlin. Funny!
DeleteHere are something about SRK, Bollywood in Germany. SRK's Kal Ho Na Ho has been played more than 100 times in Germany televsion channel on RTL - 2 and they play it usually on Friday evening 8:10 PM.
ReplyDeleteSRK's movie My name is Khan released in German film festival. He has a huge fan base here where they have fan clubs.
Most of the scenes in Don 2 was shot in Berlin and Berlin government sponsored that movie with huge sum to show the positive side of berlin. To be very short, he is the brand ambassdor of bollywood movies in Germany. :)
This is also a very good post which I really enjoyed reading. It is not every day that I have the possibility to see something like this.. Verfahrensdokumentation
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