Gisela

A dreary highrise apartment block, inhabited by the less fortunate members of society. In the middle of it all lives Gisela, married, one child, a cashier, unsatisfied and discontent. Georg and Paul, two no longer young petty thieves from the anonymous housing estate, indulge in drinking bouts and sexual boasts and fall under the spell of the married supermarket cashier Gisela. Gisela doesn't say no when the easygoing Georg invites her to his party. There she meets Paul. He's also just hanging out, but seems nicer than the others. Gisela starts a relationship with Paul. It is based on sex, nothing else. Eventually, the relationship ends as unspectacularly as it began. An emotional and irritating film, with the unconventional nonchalance of its great actors. Authentic, haphazard and unromantic, they search for their own understanding of love, friendship and sexuality in the midst of their beautifully situated everyday life in a social housing block. The poetry of freedom for these characters lies in their resignation to a world that does not lie behind the social housing estate, but in its midst.

Keywords

  • Filmgalerie 451
  • Made in Germany
  • Sooner Exclusives
  • Sooner Exclusives: Stories that Matter
  • Storyline: Not just Sex
  • User Favorites: Top 25
  • desire
  • family
  • friendship
  • literary adaptation
  • relationship

Actors

  • Anne Weinknecht
  • Stefan Rudolf
  • Carlo Ljubek
  • Horst Markgraf
  • Esther Zimmering

Director

  • Isabelle Stever

Drama, Love & Sex


1h 30min


16 FSK

DE


EN

NL

FR

IT

SV

PT

ES

Germany
2005
Authentic, haphazard and unromantic, three residents of a high-rise housing estate search for love, friendship and sexuality.

Authentic, haphazard and unromantic, three residents of a high-rise housing estate search for love, friendship and sexuality.


A dreary highrise apartment block, inhabited by the less fortunate members of society. In the middle of it all lives Gisela, married, one child, a cashier, unsatisfied and discontent. Georg and Paul, two no longer young petty thieves from the anonymous housing estate, indulge in drinking bouts and sexual boasts and fall under the spell of the married supermarket cashier Gisela.


Gisela doesn't say no when the easygoing Georg invites her to his party. There she meets Paul. He's also just hanging out, but seems nicer than the others. Gisela starts a relationship with Paul. It is based on sex, nothing else. Eventually, the relationship ends as unspectacularly as it began.


An emotional and irritating film, with the unconventional nonchalance of its great actors. Authentic, haphazard and unromantic, they search for their own understanding of love, friendship and sexuality in the midst of their beautifully situated everyday life in a social housing block. The poetry of freedom for these characters lies in their resignation to a world that does not lie behind the social housing estate, but in its midst.

Festivals

Cast & Crew