first film back

Last year was Heimkino, but this year the Film Festival is back in person.  I'm actually a little disappointed; it was so easy to just watch all the films on my couch, and now I have to go downtown and be in a theater with people... Well, at least there is a festival at all.  The first film was No Hard Feelings, about immigrants and refugees in Germany, with a touch of LGBTQ+.  I think if you don't read the synopsis beforehand you wouldn't know that the main character is doing community service as a translator for Iranian refugees, you might think he's just volunteering for some reason.  The story goes over his quest to accept himself as an Iranian-German, I guess, and a gay one.  He has trouble with different accents, and some Iranians make fun of him for his more German accent.  He starts a kind of secret relationship with one of the refugees and a firm friendship with the refugee's sister, who ends up having her case rejected by the government and her deportation ordered.  I was surprised by how little fuss people made about homosexuality - the main character's family doesn't seem to care at all about who he's attracted to, and even the refugees are not especially bothered.  There are a few comments, but nothing to make you worry about anyone's life.  The main character's parents seem to be planning to return to Iran, which he struggles to understand, but his mother tells him that they just can't let go of their connection to their homeland, while at the same time she hopes that his home is Germany.  The refugee woman ends up going on the run from the police to avoid deportation, and asks the main character to take care of her brother, who he's already started to be pretty serious with.  At the end, she's gone, and the two men are together, happy with each other, but wounded by the situation.

I did go looking for a German beer, and ended up buying one at the German supermarket.  A nice märzen, a little hilariously with the line "like in the good old days".  It's lighter than expected, clear and orangey.  Fine white head, although not very resistant.  There's a very, very mild scent of bitter, not the typical lager grain.  There's plenty of lager flavor, though, full and round, somewhat sweet.  It's kind of a thick feeling beer, not exactly sticky, but it doesn't go down completely cleanly.  It's not a bad beer for movie watching, to be honest.  Too bad I couldn't have it in the theater.