«It was the first time that we met»: «Frau Rettich, die Czerni und Ich» or How the German Cinema Discovered Barcelona

Abstract

The 1998 film adaptation of Frau Rettich, die Czerni und ich, the debut novel by Simone Borowiak, ushered in the Barcelona era in German cinema and television, which is still strong today. The road movie tells the story of three women on their way from Frankfurt to Catalonia, where one of them wants to get married. In order to make the novel suitable for the screen, various love stories were incorporated, turning the film into an early culture clash comedy while inscribing it in the literary tradition of the adventurous quest. The conspicuous presence of multilingualism for the time and for German cinema indicates that this is also a distinctly European perspective on the genre. Barcelona is staged as a touristically attractive metropolis that presents a counterpoint to Frankfurt and thus, once again, the cultural north-south axis of Europe, which is linked to various characterological and climatological theories, is staged.