Pink

I do like German cinema and being at the Berlin Film Festival, I had hoped to catch some genuine German treats. Pink was not the film to satisfy my needs, it is a poor piece of cinema which, in my opinion, shouldn't have been included in this year's festival, I cannot believe there was nothing that warranted inclusion over this.

Pink (Hannah Herzsprung) is a successful young poet who writes cruel love poems, which she recites live all over Germany to her devoted fans. Her love life is something of a success as well. Three men hope to win her as their bride. Pink makes systematic, but incorrect, decisions – using a pocket calculator. She sorts out her relationships using text messaging and settles conflicts – if she has to – using a gun. In spite of her scrutiny she chooses the wrong man – twice. But only when she chooses the third will she find happiness.

Pink is not a likable lead - at the beginning its very hard to warm to her and its very hard to appreciate why on earth these three men are falling over themselves to be with her in the first place. Constantly enraged with the world, she lets out her frustration through her work but due to insignificant backstory - apart from missing her dad and brother - we never know why she is like she is.

The three men are underwritten stereotypical types, one being over-possessive, one being unfaithful and the other being a complete odd-ball who is a foil to her personality but is a total sap. The director makes use of some nice locations and keeps things ticking over but ultimately the story wears thin and the quick succession of weddings make a total mockery of each encounter - at one point I wanted to scream at her, "Is it that bad being single for five minutes?" Predictably, as the ending arrives we learn absolutely nothing or witness anything different that we didn't see coming halfway through.

Pink is a very unrewarding experience. Avoid.