Berlin Premiere: THOSE WHO ARE FINE

There is talk of internet providers, fees for cell phone contracts, price differences between health insurance plans, fees for different data volumes – and not just in the sales conversation at a Zurich call center where con-artist Alice finds suitably wealthy victims by asking the believing old ladies at the other end of the line for their bank balances. At the city police station, the old people’s home, and the bank too, reading out series of digits is the most normal thing in the world. Telephone numbers, Wi-Fi passwords, identification PINs, security codes, bonus numbers, and insurance police figures are at the heart of the dialogue in Cyril Schäublin’s feature debut DENE WOS GUET GEIT (Those Who Are Fine, Switzerland 2017), which is grounded in laconic humors and decked out with thriller fragments. The clean, clinical concrete architecture of Zurich is shot with an unmoving camera and functions as the sober backdrop to a precisely directed image of our times. Schweiz everywhere. (bik) (24.10., 8pm)