made with
sorry for the mistakes
Christmas Crossfire
“We can't help it” is the Google Translate translation of
the original title of this film, that is, “Wir können nicht
anders”. "Crossfire at Christmas", however, is the title, which
stands out on "Netflix". In any case, neither title nor the other can
describe this work by Detlev Buck. Why? Because we should be in a
comedy / crime set in the Christmas period, but neither the genre nor
the holiday can be seen. First of all, Christmas is more a vague
reference of lights and a few decorated trees and if that were the only
problem, there wouldn't be much to complain about. But what are missing
are the comedy / crime that are actually a broken promise. Yes, they
shoot, they kill, but the reasons are rather trivial, faded and then,
they never make you laugh. For the entire duration of the film, I
thought that I was the problem, that maybe I don't understand German
comedy, but when I got to the end, I realized that, no, there's nothing
to laugh about.
I don't know if Buck who writes the script with Martin Behnke had
Tarantino in mind and especially Guy Ritchie of “Lock &
Stock” and “The Snatch”, I hope not for him, because
otherwise he wouldn't have understood much.
It must be said that the first ten minutes have their own meaning and
certainly intrigue. Edda (Alli Neumann), meets Samuel (Kostja Ullmann)
in a bar, a bohemian professor who lives in a camper full of books.
Love at first sight, with her that convinces him to follow her to her
native town, a small place in the woods. There, during a moment of
passion in the camper, the two hear cries for help. Samuel runs and
frees a boy who was about to be executed by a criminal and his gang.
This marks the beginning of the adventures of Samuel and Edda. Their
paths separate, they travel in parallel in a not very credible local
underworld, with her father's birthday party and ironic references to
welcoming migrants.
The casus belli, which I do not spoil, is something incredibly silly as much as the ballet on the cast credits.
Let's say that the best aspect of "Crossfire at Christmas" is the
presence of Sophia Thomalla, who besides being a good actress (employed
here very badly) is also very beautiful and was the former girlfriend
of Till Lindemann, the well-known singer of Rammstein. But if a film
hits the news for this ...