It's a familiar story: finally off work, finally some peace and quiet and then fate rings the doorbell. In the case of geriatric nurse Reiner, it's even Death himself, whose concentration is no longer the best after a busy day. And so Reiner is able to talk the Grim Reaper out of a reprieve.
From "Everyman" to Monty Python, a little bit of heaven over Berlin with pointedly laconic humour a la Aki Kaurismäki - "Sophia, Death and I" is Charly Hübner's feature film debut based on a novel by musician Thees Uhlmann and is literally hilarious.

Charly Hübner
Charly Hübner, born in 1972 in Neustrelitz, Mecklenburg, could have become a landlord like his parents. After graduating from high school in 1991, however, he followed the call to the stage, which, following his training at the Ernst Busch Hochschule, led to work in major theatres in Berlin, Zurich, Cologne and Hamburg. He has been impressing on the big screen since 2006 ("Das Leben der Anderen") and has appeared on television in "Ladykracher", "Tatortreiniger" and as a Rostock detective in "Polizeiruf 110", among others. in 2017, he surprised everyone by co-directing the documentary "Wildes Herz" about the punk band "Feine Sahne Fischfilet".

At a time when superheroes are populating the big screen ever faster, bigger and louder, Aki Kaurismäki's films are even more out of the ordinary than ever before. The Finn's latest work, "Falling Leaves", is even slower, more reduced and quieter than his 16 previous films. As is so often the case with Kaurismäki, the film is about boy meets girl, but unfortunately the boy has a drinking problem. All of this is brought to the point so precisely through the choice of colours and props, camera, faces, looks and few, but unflinchingly honest dialogues that it simply makes your heart beat faster.

Aki Kaurismäki
"When all hope has evaporated, there is no more reason for pessimism." Aki Kaurismäki's words of wisdom are as unsparing as they are true, both on and off the screen. Born in Orimattila, Finland, in 1956, the author and director likes to put them into the mouths of his protagonists, who are often simple labourers ("Ariel", "The Girl from the Match Factory"), musicians ("Leningrad Cowboys Go America") or suicides ("I Hired a Contract Killer"), shoe shiners ("Le Havre") or refugees ("The Other Side of Hope").

What is pink, glittery and totally feminist? With "Barbie", writer and director Greta Gerwig has not only rehabilitated three generations of girls playing with frivolous dress-up dolls, she has also written film history with this highly commercial but never brainless large-scale production.
But who is the woman who achieved this feat?
The renowned streaming portal for small, independently produced films, MUBI, is showing four of Gerwig's early films in which she appears in front of the camera ("Baghead", 2008 and "Century Women", 2016) and also co-wrote some of the screenplay ("Hannah Takes the Stairs", 2007 and "Frances Ha", 2012).

There is something very meditative about soaring through the air while the birds warble, chirp and chirp below you. All you have to do as a player is put sheep out to pasture and charm colourful birds of paradise into joining your flock in flight. The name "Flock" therefore says it all. It is important to be observant and polite when dealing with other species and to have a little skill for the flying manoeuvres. Once you have practised this well on your own, you can join other players via online co-op or compete with them.