Halbe Treppe is a German movie, released in 2002. The title means "Halfway up the Stairs"; it was the real-life name of the snack bar shown in the film. It was released under the title Grill Point in English.

Grill Point was heavily influenced by the Dogme 95 movement (although it does not follow all the Dogme rules; it uses some music not performed in-scene, the director is credited, and it is presented in widescreen format). It was shot almost entirely on location in the eastern German city of Frankfurt (Oder) using handheld digital video cameras. Its performance was improvised.

Plot summary

Uwe, owner of a snack bar, and his wife Ellen, who works in a perfume store, are friends with Katrin, who works in a trucking agency, and her husband Chris, a radio DJ. Neither marriage is holding together well; soon, Chris begins an affair with Ellen. When Katrin discovers this, they try, and fail to solve the problem as a foursome; when this fails, the two couples respond to the situation in different ways.

Reception

• The film won the Silver Bear at the 2002 Berlinale (Grand Prix of the Jury)
• 2002 Deutscher Filmpreis in silver
• Silver Hugo for Best Direction and Best Ensemble at the 2002 Chicago International Film Festival

Trivia

• The snack bar Halbe Treppe really existed in Frankfurt (the steps where it was located were demolished in 2006 along with the rest of the former shopping center). The real owner, Eberhard Urban, makes an appearance as Uwe's assistant.

• Many of the scenes in the film take place in the Oderturm, the tallest building in Frankfurt. The perfume shop and the radio station are real.

• The dentist's practice scene was real; actor Prahl needed a tooth removed and suggested to Dresen that it be filmed and worked into the plot (which it was).

• Uwe and Ellen's apartment is in the largely Plattenbau district of Neuberesinchen. The image on the film poster and DVD box depicts unrelated apartments of a type not found in former East Germany.

• The scenes where Chris and Ellen conduct their affair were filmed at the Hotel Polonia in neighboring Słubice, Poland.

Main cast

Only four professional actors were used in the film.

• Axel Prahl: Uwe Kukowski
• Steffi Kühnert: Ellen Kukowski
• Thorsten Merten: Chris Düring
• Gabriela Maria Schmiede Katrin Düring

External links

• Official site (in German)

2002 films | German films

Halbe Treppe