Aquaplaning

A somewhat impressionist, at times even slightly surreal miniature about a student (Werner Stocker in a splendid performance) who, out of financial difficulties, starts out as pool attendant at an open air swimming pool in Berlin's district of Neukölln. Escaping from his unpleasant landlord and his lover Patrizia (a very young Martina Gedeck), he soon starts to live at the baths, and as swimmers disappear and the baths are closed for the winter, he turns the grounds into his own, perfect refuge from civilisation and social pressure, becoming increasingly detached from reality. What may sound like an annoyingly gimmicky premise is executed here playfully, yet with admirable simplicity and a subtle, unpretentious poetic sensibility that one would wish for more often in contemporary German cinema.

Directed by Eva Hiller, Aquaplaning leans on a strong ensemble — Werner Stocker, Martina Gedeck, Imke Barnstedt — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.

The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about tv movie titles of 1987.