''Grill Point'' is a 2002 German drama film directed by

Andreas Dresen Andreas Dresen (born 16 August 1963) is a German film director. His directing credits include '' Cloud 9'', '' Summer in Berlin'', ''Grill Point'' and ''Night Shapes''. His film '' Stopped on Track'' premiered at the Un Certain Regard section at ...

. Its original German title is ''Halbe Treppe'', which means "Halfway up the Stairs" in English, and was the real-life name of the snack bar shown in the film. ''Grill Point'' was heavily influenced by the

Dogme 95 Dogme 95 is a 1995 avant-garde filmmaking movement founded by the Danish directors Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg, who created the "Dogme 95 Manifesto" and the "Vows of Chastity" ( da, kyskhedsløfter). These were rules to create films ba ...

manifest (although it does not follow all the Dogme rules; it uses some music not performed in-scene, the director is credited, and it is presented in

widescreen Widescreen images are displayed within a set of aspect ratios (relationship of image width to height) used in film, television and computer screens. In film, a widescreen film is any film image with a width-to-height aspect ratio greater than t ...

format). It was shot almost entirely on location in the eastern German city of

Frankfurt (Oder) Frankfurt (Oder), also known as Frankfurt an der Oder (), is a city in the German state of Brandenburg. It has around 57,000 inhabitants, is one of the easternmost cities in Germany, the fourth-largest city in Brandenburg, and the largest German ...

using handheld

digital video Digital video is an electronic representation of moving visual images (video) in the form of encoded digital data. This is in contrast to analog video, which represents moving visual images in the form of analog signals. Digital video comprises ...

cameras. Its performance was improvised.

Plot

Uwe, owner of a snack bar, and his wife Ellen, who works in a perfume store, are friends with Katrin, who works in a trucking agency, and her husband Chris, a radio DJ. Neither marriage is holding together well; soon, Chris begins an affair with Ellen. When Katrin discovers this, they try, and fail to solve the problem as a foursome; when this fails, the two couples respond to the situation in different ways.

Cast

Only four professional actors were used in the film. *

Axel Prahl Axel Prahl (born 26 March 1960 in Eutin) is a German actor and musician. Prahl, born in Eutin, grew up in nearby Neustadt in Holstein. After his A-levels, Prahl started studying music and mathematics, but then went on to acting school in Kiel. ...

as Uwe Kukowski *

Steffi Kühnert Steffi Kühnert (born 19 February 1963) is a German actress. She appeared in more than eighty films since 1978. Since November 2009, she has been a professor of acting at the Ernst Busch Academy of Dramatic Art, where she was previously a guest l ...

as Ellen Kukowski *

Thorsten Merten Thorsten (Thorstein, Torstein, Torsten) is a Scandinavian given name. The Old Norse name was ''Þórsteinn''. It is a compound of the theonym ''Þór'' (''Thor'') and ''steinn'' "stone", which became ''Thor'' and ''sten'' in Old Danish and Old Swe ...

as Chris Düring *

Gabriela Maria Schmeide Gabriela may refer to: * Gabriela (given name), a Spanish, Portuguese and Romanian feminine given name * ''Gabriela'' (1942 film), a Czech film * ''Gabriela'' (1950 film), a German film * ''Gabriela'' (1983 film), a Brazilian film * ''Gabriela' ...

as Katrin Düring The band

17 Hippies 17 Hippies is a band from Berlin, Germany, playing largely on acoustic instruments, a radically democratic collective of professionals and amateurs. Their music is a confection of various folk influences. They are most popular in their native G ...

who wrote and performed the music appear throughout the film as "the musicians".

Reception

*The film won the Silver Bear at the 2002

Berlinale The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festi ...

(Grand Prix of the Jury) *2002

Deutscher Filmpreis The German Film Award (), also known as Lola after its prize statuette, is the national film award of Germany. It is presented at an annual ceremony honouring cinematic achievements in the German film industry. Besides being the most important ...

in silver *Silver Hugo for Best Direction and Best Ensemble at the 2002

Chicago International Film Festival The Chicago International Film Festival is an annual film festival held every fall. Founded in 1964 by Michael Kutza, it is the longest-running competitive film festival in North America. Its logo is a stark, black and white close up of the comp ...

External links

Official website (in German)
* * 2002 drama films 2002 films Films directed by Andreas Dresen German drama films 2000s German-language films Adultery in films Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize winners 2000s German films {{2000s-Germany-film-stub