The architecture of East Berlin was a crime against art. Yet, for skateboarders, all that monstrous concrete was practically a workers’ paradise. The East German skater subculture gets the full documentary treatment and then some in Marten Persiel’s “This Ain’t California.”
Athletics were a big deal in the German Democratic Republic, but a scruffy skateboarder like Denis “Panik” Paraceck was nobody’s idea of a Katarina Witt. He was supposed to be an Olympic swimmer, but his rebellious nature and flair for daredevil stunts drew him to the skater scene.
Although the Stasi constantly spied on Paraceck and his cronies, the East German sports bureaucracy eventually tried to co-opt the movement when it discovered that the burgeoning sport had its own circuit of international competitions. It seems that Paraceck initially tried to play ball, but he quickly chafed under its authority. However, there is also a strong likelihood he never existed in the first place.
While “This Ain’t California” (“TAC”) is structured as an elegy to Paraceck, a little digging raised serious questions about the film’s cross-its-heart-and-swear-to-die veracity. Evidently, Persiel now uses the term “documentary tale” and speaks of the broadening meaning for the genre.
Regardless, the underground East German skater community is an established fact. It seems safe to assume that they were on the business end of Stasi surveillance, and the PR-conscious Party probably did try to recruit them for propaganda purposes. As for the rest of “TAC,” you tell me.
In fact, some of the animated interludes are obviously intended to instill a fable-like vibe. Had Paraceck really burned down the German Democratic Republic’s skater training facilities, it is doubtful that he would have lived to see unification.
Rather, Paraceck functions as a scapegoat-like creation myth of unification. Supposedly locked in a Stasi prison cell when the wall came down, he missed all the festivities. By the time he was released, Persiel and their cohorts had already moved on with their unified lives, leaving him behind.
There is definitely a measure of truth to “TAC,” but it is a fair question to ask how much. If nothing else, Persiel captures the milieu of the GDR era. Paraceck or those for whom he serves as a composite did not want to become political activists. Nonetheless, they became de facto dissidents simply by careening about atop a small board with wheels.
Visually striking, “This Ain’t California” combines talking-head reminiscences, stark animated sequences, and some impressive archival skating footage (that may well have been recreated by Persiel and a cast of contemporary skaters).
Director: Marten Persiel
Cast: David Nathan, Anneke Schwabe, Bill Clinton
Running Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes
Language: German with English subtitles
3.5 stars
Joe Bendel writes about independent film and lives in New York. To read his most recent articles, please visit http://jbspins.blogspot.com
