Schafe in Wales

Directed by Christoph Schlingensief

“Perpetrators and victims in the generational conflict, wolves in Berlin and sheep in Wales. Contrary to popular expectations, but in keeping with Schlingensief’s cosmos, the perpetrators whose criminal desire guarantees survival (as well as the work of art) are the children: the chubby and nimble twins Felix and Jacob. Wolves scurry in the Tegel Forest, a brightly lit subway rumbles through the cold night and unites the protagonists. An adult (Volker Spengler) seeks the children’s friendship in order to exchange desperation and aggression for childlike security and impartiality. […] The fascination of the world of fathers and the sinful thrill of getting rid of them are expressed in what Schlingensief deliberately exaggerates and drives into a macabre grotesque. The emotional layering of the dramaturgical elements, noises, sound and music, largely freed from their narrative connection, releases intensities that lead to direct communication.” –LICHTBLICK-KINO