Berlin Alexanderplatz (2020)

An underrated German movie that deserves to be ranked with its best.

Operatic yet gritty in scope and gloom, 'Berlin Alexanderplatz' is a Germanic movie highlight.

Director Burhan Qurbani is to be commended for joining the rare rank of directors who are unafraid of an epic length to allow their stories and characters to develop - I wouldn't cut any of the 3 hours.

Welket Bungué is excellent as a frustrating character I both rooted for and berated. Albrecht Schuch is darkly exuberant as the protagonist, and should have been in competition with the likes of Anthony Hopkins (‘The Father’) that year.

If there's a lesson to be learned, it's that loyalty can be addictive, and that addiction isn't love.

I am encouraged to find Qurbani's previous movie, 'We Are Young, We Are Strong'.