Elementarteilchen

Rating: 80%

(Image: http://outnow.ch)

Also Known As:

Atomized; Elementary Particles

Year:

2006

Country/ies:

Germany

Predominant Genre:

Drama

Author(s)/Director(s):

Oskar Roehler

Best Performance(s):

Moritz BLEIBTREU

Christian ULMEN

Martina GEDECK

Franka POTENTE

Nina HOSS

Corinna HARFOUCH

Tom SCHILLING

Thomas DRECHSEL

Herbert KNAUP

Michael GWISDEK

Jasmin TABATABAI

Ulrike KRIENER

Uwe OCHSENKNECHT

Premiss:

Artificial reproduction of organisms without sexual contact.

Theme(s):

Alienation

Emotional repression

Grieving

Identity

Loneliness

White culture

White guilt

White supremacy

Similar (in Plot, Theme or Style) to:

Brave New World

Review Format:

DVD

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O brave new world, / That has such people in’t

Somewhat dishonest look at the failings of White culture that cannot step outside of its own worldview to accurately critique itself: The usual White belief that only White problems matter. Whites’ love of science (& its attendant materialism) has been at the expense of happiness, religion and life, itself; hence, the soullessness of White culture. White sexual repression is the cause of the White need to dominate others; inevitably leading to wars of aggression and many other kinds of conflict. Inevitable then, that such repression would lead Whites to try to find another way of reproducing that did not induce guilt and shame; while holding out the Nazi possibility of White perfectibility.

Despite the excellence of the performances, the satire centering around emotionally-unfulfilling White childhoods does not bite as hard as it could (especially regarding the phony self-realization of Hippiedom) since those who made the film do not wish to bite the cultural hand that feeds them. It is, thus, an example of the very attention-seeking engaged in by many of its characters in their relentless search for a viable self. Yet, despite the worldview presented being essentially nihilistic and self-indulgent, this is still a worthy effort for all that.

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