King of Ravens

Darko (Malik Blumenthal) lives on the fringes of society, but is doing quite well here so far. With his best friends Yanoosh and Manolo, the 22-year-old Macedonian keeps finding ways to get money or escape police checks. After all, he lives in Germany without a residence permit. He breeds pigeons, which he flies at weddings, or sells car parts - all to help his sick mother. When one day he meets the artist Alina (Antje Traue), his life seems almost perfect for a brief moment. Between the two of them, a passion ignites, the likes of which Darko has never known before. But the happiness he feels is not long-lasting. Worse still: now everything he has painstakingly built up for himself and his mother is at stake...

In his second feature film "King of the Ravens" Piotr J. Lewandowski tells the moving story of three friends who have found a home in Germany, but who have to live in secret in order to be allowed to stay here. How difficult it is when you have to keep your head above water with odd jobs but have no legal recourse, when you are not paid the salary you earned or when you have to take care of a sick person and this is only possible with the help of someone else's health insurance card, is shown in the film in a forceful but not too morally accusatory way. Because above all the difficulties and problems, especially in Darko's case, hovers a certain joie de vivre and conviction: Everything will be alright! Somehow...

And that's exactly how it seems to turn out. In the first moments between Darko and Alina, as a viewer you feel not only genuine passion, but also lightheartedness and happiness. One is so happy for the young man who never lost his positive attitude despite many hurdles. But then the story takes a course that threatens to destroy all the good. The friendship between Darko, Yanoosh and Manolo, the budding love for Alina and the secret life that was built on the fringes of society. This is hard to watch and leaves a tremendous heaviness at the end.

So despite many beautiful moments, "King of the Ravens" is not an easy feel-good film. It is a stirring story that makes you think, that makes you sad and that stirs you up. If you are ready to face it and if you generally appreciate German program cinema fare, this strong drama can be warmly recommended. Worth seeing!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp