A Coffee in Berlin

Tom Schilling stars as twentysomething Niko, a Berliner having a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day: an ATM has seized Niko's debit card, a neighbor unloads all of his emotional problems on him, Niko's father cuts him loose from financial support, and a former classmate he once humiliated for being fat is now a svelte performer who harbors repressed anger. Buffeted by all of these uncontrollable forces, Niko haplessly moves from one nutty scenario to the next, barely able to control anything. No wonder, really: Niko secretly dropped out of school two years prior and can find no meaning or purpose for his life. Schilling is very good in this black-and-white, Woody Allen-esque comedy from filmmaker Jan Ole Gerster that is full of wacky side characters and culminates in a random encounter that will unexpectedly lead to a powerful epiphany. Recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include a conversation with director Jan Ole Gerster and film critic Ignatiy Vishnevetsky (40 min.), outtakes (10 min.), a featurette on the score (5 min.), an improv segment with star Tom Schilling (5 min.), deleted scenes (4 min.), casting tapes (4 min.), and trailers. Bottom line: a fine extras package for a low-key charmer.] (T. Keogh)