Franky (Lena Urzendowsky) isn’t like the others. She is shy, has an annoying mother, and her best friend Katya (Meryem Ebru Öz) is her flatmate. So far so normal. But Franky also has four lodgers upstairs. And they can be quite stressful. They live in the hotel of her soul, and whenever they are called upon, they appear – sometimes in the most inopportune moments. Then Franky becomes childish, lascivious, engaged or ambitious and for all outsiders she just seems moody. But she actually just wants to be herself and finally fall in love. The neighbor, whom she secretly adores, would be the ideal candidate, the house party she is planning with Katja would be the perfect opportunity. But then the lodgers get in her way again and cause a lot of emotional chaos. Birgit Möller (VALERIE) has created an imaginative film about growing up. She stages both narrative levels imaginatively and playfully and her film is somewhat reminiscent of the films by Jean-Pierre Jeunet or Wes Anderson. The dynamic between the worlds feel right. Her cast is passionate, whether it’s Sven Hönig as a anti-capitalist page of the soul hotel or Sophie Killer as Franky’s femme fatale incarnation Ella. At the center is Lena Urzendowsky (KOKON), who embodies the different shades of emotions beautifully. First and foremost it is very fun, but it also has the necessary seriousness and is surprising, even if the story itself doesn’t reinvent the rom-com wheel, rather giving us a successful, original version of it. FRANKY FIVE STAR had its world premiere at the 44th Max Ophüls Film Festival and received the prize from the Ecumenical Jury.

Lars Tunçay

Translation: Elinor Lewy