Almanya – Willkomen in Deustchland

Remarks: Though immigration is perhaps the single-most
common thread across all imaginable boundaries of our generation, I have
always felt stories that have dealt with the theme have often diluted
it in the larger context of individual stories or emphasised it strongly
to prove a political point. In other words, there wasn’t a story on
immigration and identity per se, exploring what these are, by themselves
in our times? It has been always what it means to someone or somewhere
and worst what it ought to mean?  In this sense, Almanya, is the movie I
had seen several times in my head, long before it was made. Its
strength is that it’s not a part of anything else bigger or stronger.
Zadie Smith, writing in the White Teeth a decade back had said …. it
makes an immigrant laugh to hear the fears of the nationalist, scared of
infection, penetration, miscegenation, when this is small fry,
peanuts, compared to what the immigrant fears – dissolution, disappearance.
Almanya explores these fears without turning overtly political or
preachy.

The story is of Huseyin, one of the first wave Turkish
immigrants to Germany. Narrated between flashbacks and present time, the
story is lighthearted with a good dose of comedy. As it moves forward
it presents the case for different layers and perspectives of
immigration and identity in different stories of its characters. The
emotions therefore are rich and varied, yet not at all definite – the
typical confusion not very alien to an immigrant. While the second and
third generations ( children and the grandchildren) struggle with their
own notions of identity Huseyin has to deal with his own. All of these
questions are well explored with a warm, ( dare I even say, caring?)
touch, without getting carried away, as often the temptation is in such
efforts.  The chief motif is that of conflict – ranging from ambivalence
for Huseyin who migrated for economic reasons contrasted against his
notions of rootedness  to his grandson who though German, struggles to
decide which side he has to play football for  in School- German or
Turkish? As he observes you can only play for one side, not both, as his
grandfather believes. Th various characters are given different
personalities to emphasise different viewpoints, while Fatma ( Huseyin’s
wife ) relishes her German passport, his daughter is fairly not
bothered about being anything or of any particular country?

The
movie is well made; I believe you can’t make a movie on this subject
without stereotypes, so yes, there’s liberal use of cliches and
stereotypes in the narration but they never once are boring and more
importantly, like I have witnessed in many Indian immigrant movies, they
are not trivialised into a completed morality (  Bend it like Beckham,
Namesake et al)

The acting is refreshing, though the characters
themselves are pretty stereotypical. The script is reasonable and I
found the cinematography decent. Direction is impressive in the context -
especially the omissions to maintain that sense of comedy whilst
exploring a reasonably non-comical topic -  what I would term as ‘walking
the tight rope walk of light heartedness’ Almanya doesnt fall into
the category of Great Cinema but for the authenticity of its exploration
and for its bravery of not shying away from the typical, I would
certainly say it’s a very good movie.
Do not miss if you are keen on
the topic of immigration and identities in 21st century.