Colour of the Ocean
A trend continuing in popularity in German cinema is the exploration of cultural clash - usually wrapped around the allied themes of refugees, multiculturalism and racism. This year's program has several films reflecting this interest.
High on my personal must-see list is Maggie Peren’s exceptionally well-reviewed COLOUR OF THE OCEAN, in which a German tourist on the Cayman Islands discovers a group of African refugees in detention, leading her to helping one of them.
But does this lead to a positive outcome? Film industry bible Variety praised this “muscular, moving thriller with a three-sided perspective on the moral complexities of immigration,” adding that Peren “juggles the multiple perspectives of her story with aplomb. The narrative never bogs down in rhetoric; nor does the viewer get led astray.”
Similarly impressed was the European-based Screen Daily, which called it “immensely impressive” and “compelling. Peren illuminates important questions of responsibility, compassion and moral duty but within a collection of richly textured human stories. The result feels accessible and touching rather than worthy or overly didactic.”
