“Central Airport THF.” credit: dailystar.com.lb / © Juan Sarmiento G.
A Brazilian director who has re-established his career in Berlin, veteran director Karim Aïnouz discovered an irresistible subject; Berlin Central airport – Tempelhof – which started out small in the 1920s, was greatly expanded under Hitler in the 30s and 40s, and eventually closed in 2008. It’s green expanse of runway areas became parkland and recreational area for Berlin’s residents (it’s Berlin’s largest public park), but in 2015 the main terminals became holding areas for the flood of refugees fleeing violence in the Middle East and Africa. There’s white fencing separating the terminal from the public spaces, but each faction can easily view the other.
Aïnouz’ wonderful documentary Central Airport THF (Zentralflughafen THF) (Germany, 2018) introduces us to the sprawling airport itself, an impressive piece of architecture, and a landscape area of humbling scale. Aïnouz’ fellow Berliner, cinematographer Juan Sarmiento G. employs an array of drones, handhelds, cranes and set-shots to not only emphasize the unique environment, but to keep the human elements within it, and around it, relatable. The film primarily follows 18-year-old Ibrahim, who fled Syria and is hoping to upgrade his status; presently, “protected” means he’s welcome to stay at the terminal / refugee camp, but risks being sent back if he doesn’t move into “refugee” status, which gives him 3 – 1/2 years to learn the language, find work and earn German citizenship. We also meet the chummy and empathetic Qutaiba, an older Iraqi who hopes to get a leg up on continuing his medical studies by helping out the doctors at Tempelhof and acting as a translator. There are over 3,000 refugees at Tempelhof, but I don’t get the sense that the people we’re introduced to in the film were in any way cast or “cherry-picked” – Aïnouz’ follows the Frederick Wiseman preference for observation over agenda, even though there’s a fair amount of explanatory voiceover from Ibrahim.
I was first introduced to Karim Aïnouz in his 2009 fictional road movie I Travel Because I Have to, I Come Back Because I Love You, the abstract-ish journey of a geologist doing research in rural Brazil who is haunted by the end of a relationship. There’s a haunted quality to Central Airport THF as well, but it’s a sense of intrigue that pulls you in rather than a stylistic distancing device. If there was any way to arrange for Kirstjen Nielsen to get multiple viewings here to see how this sort of thing should be handled by a presumably civil nation, I’d join that committee in a second. This is a genuinely big-hearted film of great beauty and wisdom, and I suspect it won’t see a theatrical run here anytime soon. Go now while you can.
Periscope In The Bathtub 