DFS members will receive an E-mail link on SA, 4/25 to enable them to watch this film.

WHAT ABOUT ADOLF? – Germany – 91 min – Comedy

Southern California Premiere 

“What’s in a name?” Shakespeare’s lofty question takes on new life in this savage comedy-a breakout hit in Germany-which raucously lampoons contemporary German attitudes, guilt and denials of the Nazi past. When Thomas (Florian David Fitz), the black sheep of a progressive middle-class academic family, surprises his siblings with the news that he intends to name his son Adolf, petty carnage ensues as personal, ideological and sexual histories are unmasked in this scintillating dark comedy. A breakout German box office hit (a noteworthy factoid deserving of its own cultural analysis), this send-up of social respectability and appearances shows as much of an awareness of Germany’s current shifting political landscape and reactionary views as it does an understanding of the tense interpersonal dynamics between siblings and in-laws. With a marvelous screenplay that is biting, quick, frequently genuinely shocking and deserving of comparison to Yasmina Reza’s best satiric plays, How About Adolf? is an enjoyable excursion into bourgeois infighting and mayhem. At this dinner table, sociability starts out as just a smile, and a smile is just teeth.  – Tien-Tien L. Jong

“A breakout hit at the German box office, award-winning director Sönke Wortmann (The Miracle of Bern, 2003) has crafted this outstanding social satire lathered in witty dialogue and perfect timing where German guilt and angst over the Nazi past meets a family dinner gone awry.”  … Kinofest

Writers: Claudius Pläging | Alexander Dydyna
Director: Sönke Wortmann
Genre: Comedy
Running Time: 91 minutes
Distributor: Menemsha Films
Country: Germany
Language: German w|English Subtitles
Rating: N|R
Starring: Christoph Maria Herbst, Florian David Fitz, Caroline Peters, Janina Uhse, Justus von Dohnanyi, Iris Berben

FESTIVALS: Switzerland, Zurich Film Festival; Germany, Film Festival Cologne; Iran, FAJR Film Festival; USA, San Francisco Jewish Film Festival, Sedona International Film Festival

AWARDS: Directors’ Choice Award (Best Feature Comedy) – Sedona International Film Festival

Free to Desert Film Society members or pay $15 at the door.  Complimentary refreshments when doors unlock at 9:30AM.  A facilitated discussion will follow the film.