MovieTalk at the American Library in Karlsruhe

Film of the month:

[?]* (Directed by Stephen Frears, 1986; 1h 37m; FSK: ab 16)
June is Pride Month, when the rights of LGBTQ+ people are celebrated across the world. Reason enough to watch a classic film which opened the door for many more queer-themed movies. In 1980s London, Omar, an ambitious young man from the Pakistani community, hires Johnny, a hard-up White friend from his past who has drifted into an extreme-right clique, to help turn a derelict self-service laundry into a thriving business. Against this complex social background they find love against all odds. Starring Gordon Warnecke, Daniel Day-Lewis, Saeed Jaffrey, Roshan Seth and Shirley Anne Field. Screenwriter: Hanif Kureishi. Soundtrack by Stanley Myers and Hans Zimmer.

“How many times in the history of the medium have we seen a single film rattle as many socio-cinematic paradigms—and done it with as much brio?”
– Josef Braun, Vue Weekly

"This story of complicated human beings trying to get by in a morally confusing world made director Stephen Frears' name on the international stage, and it remains highly watchable today."
– Jennie Kermode, Eye for Film

“It’s an enormous pleasure to see a movie that’s really about something, and that doesn’t lay on any syrupy coating to make the subject go down easily.”
– Pauline Kael, The New Yorker

“[This film argues] that you have a choice. You can accept your class, social position, race, sexuality or prejudices as absolutes, and live entirely inside them. Or you can look out the window, or maybe even walk out the door.”
– Roger Ebert, RogerEbert[dot]com

Shown in English with English subtitles. Admission is free.

American Library in Karlsruhe
Kanalweg 52, 76149 Karlsruhe, Tel.: 0721-72752

*We aren't legally allowed to advertise the films we show by name, but we may describe them!