In a puzzling study of a Finn's sojourn in Berlin, this understated (if not experimental) drama features Redbeard (Anssi Manttari, also the director) as he wanders around the city looking for a piano player and some lost music. He not only finds the man but also has a curious, brief relationship with the silent Morena (Caroline Kruger), a beautiful Italian waitress. For some inexplicable reason, Redbeard sends her packing and does not carry their budding liaison any further. Some reflection of Redbeard might be found in a small German boy who tries to become his friend and has quite a miserable home life -- his parents argue and are uncaring, at the very least. With the lovely Italian woman who is sent away and the unhappy German boy, could Manttari be thinking of his native Finland and its relationship to both Germany and Italy before the war?
by Eleanor Mannikka
synopsis
