This German film tells the amusing tale of a father-son relationship. Marcel is an electrician from the former East Germany, who couldn’t cope with the difficulties of market economics after the German reunification. He spends his day in between a vietnamese snack bar and his shabby apartment. His employment fantasies entail working as a 007-level professional bodyguard, and he’s a diehard fan of 1970s country singer Peter Tschering, the “East German Johnny Cash.” One day his son Sebastian, who’s lived the last three years with his mother, returns for a place to stay. Sebastian has had enough of life with his mom and Marcel’s ex-wife, her affluent boyfriend, and their very western, relatively wealthy lifestyle. It seems the father-son bond is much deeper than either is willing to admit at first, and through it Marcel’s life is given new direction.

Netto is Robert Thalheim’s feature debut and is typical of new trends in German cinema, spurred by young film school graduates (see KussKuss elsewhere in catalog). Thalheim was born in Berlin in 1974. After completing his schooling in the USA and Germany, he was assistant director for the Berlin Ensemble Theatre and took up studies at the Free University and the Academy of Film and Television “Konrad Wolf.” His films include Zeit Ist Leben (short, 2000), Three Percent (short, 2002), and ICH (short, 2003).

Producer: Matthias Miegel Screenwriter: Robert Thalheim Cinematographer: Yoliswa Gärtig Editor: Stefan Kobe Music: Peter Tschernig Cast: Christina Grosse, Milan Peschel, Sebastian Butz, Stephanie Charlotta Koetz, Bernd Lambrecht, Peter Tschernig