100
Village Voice by Ernest Hardy
This Ain't California is a masterful lie that illuminates a little-known reality.
This Ain’t California
Critic Rating
(read reviews)User Rating
- Germany
- 2012
- · 90m
Director
Marten Persiel
Cast
David Nathan,
Bill Clinton,
Žaneta Fuchsová,
Erich Honecker,
Helmut Kohl
Genre
Documentary,
History
A coming-of-age tale of three teenagers and their passionate love for skateboarding in the German Democratic Republic. The film follows its three heroes from their childhood in the 1970s through their teenage rebellion in the 1980s, ending with the summer of 1989, when their lives, and the country, changed forever.
Stream This Ain’t California
What are critics saying?
90
The New York Times by Jeannette Catsoulis
Smartly incorporating Sasa Zivkovic’s sweet and simple animation, as well as an exhilarating, punk-infused soundtrack, Mr. Persiel extends the film’s appeal beyond hard-core skaters.
83
The Playlist by Kevin Jagernauth
Ultimately, This Ain't California is a movie powered by nostalgia, a propulsive kind of dreamy reflection to a time and place that may not have existed with events that might not have actually happened, but have all the reality of a life that was truly lived.
80
Variety by Scott Foundas
“Dogtown and Z-Boys” meets “The Lives of Others” in This Ain’t California, a spirited not-quite-documentary portrait of the skateboarding subculture that flourished in East Germany in the early 1980s.
75
Slant Magazine by Drew Hunt
While the film is deeply romantic and nostalgic, possessing a genuine reverence for youth and rebellion, it's also something of a tragedy.
63
New York Post by Sara Stewart
A trove of home videos, vintage commercial and propaganda footage and black-and-white animation dress up this energetic if somewhat unfocused look at the birth of skateboarding in the German Democratic Republic.
60
Empire by David Parkinson
A fun and frothy mock-doc with a message buried in its axle.
60
Total Film
Though set in a divided country, it’s an effervescent period piece, edited with verve: Persiel combines recreations with archive footage, animation and home videos.
60
Time Out by David Fear
It ain’t bad, though all that detritus detracts from a far more interesting history lesson on repression and rebellion that’s left on the periphery.
60
Total Film by Emma Simmonds
Though set in a divided country, it’s an effervescent period piece, edited with verve: Persiel combines recreations with archive footage, animation and home videos.
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