Distant Lights (2003 film) - Alchetron, the free social encyclopedia

Distant Lights is a 2003 Germany film directed by Hans-Christian Schmid. The film takes place on the Polish-German border at Słubice and Frankfurt (Oder). It features an ensemble cast, and the various threads illustrate the daily life between the two countries. Its original German title is Lichter, which means "Lights".

Plot

Distant Lights (2003 film) Distant Lights 2003 MUBI

Unlike many ensemble films, the subplots of the film mostly do not interconnect with each other, and the film ends without a finale. Instead, the story threads illustrate life on the border between two countries; what appears to be poverty and desperation to some is a promised land for others, worth risking their lives to reach. The threads are:

Kolya, a Ukrainian, has paid to be smuggled into Germany illegally; he finds he has been left on the Polish side of the border. When he is caught, a German interpreter agrees to smuggle him herself; he reaches Berlin.

Ingo, a German mattress salesman, finds business in Frankfurt to be minimal and the people self-interested. He is humiliated and becomes desperate, but may have found love in Simone.

Antoni, a Polish taxi driver, struggles to find the money to buy a communion dress for his daughter. By the time he is able to afford it, he is too late. (This subplot pays homage to Ken Loach's film Raining Stones and Mike Leigh's All or Nothing.)

Philip, a young German architect, runs into his Polish former girlfriend Beata while working on a building project in Słubice. Neither the romance nor the project works out.

Anna and Dimitri, a young Ukrainian couple, are swindled out of their money and try with Antoni's help to cross the river Oder, almost drowning in the attempt.

Andreas, a young German orphan who smuggles cigarettes, attempts to take the money and run away with a girl from the children's home.

Cast

Iwan Shwedoff as Kolya

Devid Striesow as Ingo

August Diehl as Philip

Julia Krynke as Beata

Alice Dwyer as Katharina

Zbigniew Zamachowski as Antoni

Maria Simon as Sonja

Michael Gerber as Rainer Petzold

Herbert Knaup as Klaus Fengler

Henry Hübchen as Werner Wilke

Anna Fischer

Reception

The film won the FIPRESCI Prize at the 2003 Berlinale

2003 Findling Award

2002 Bundesfilmpreis in silver

Best Direction, Best Script, 2003 Bavarian Film Prize

Ethereal distant lights 2003 mix

References

Distant Lights (2003 film) Wikipedia

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Distant Lights (2003 film) IMDb Distant Lights (2003 film) Rotten Tomatoes Distant Lights (2003 film) themoviedb.org

Contents

Plot

Cast

Reception

Ethereal distant lights 2003 mix

References