Köln 75: The Berlinale Premiere

My conflicted thoughts on the film about The Köln Concert

On Sunday morning, I stood waiting outside of some soulless, sterile, corporate-sponsored arena near the riverfront.

I usually tend to avoid these places, but a friend had offered me a spare ticket for the Berlinale premiere of Köln 75.

I’d tried to get tickets for one of the screenings in a more aesthetically pleasing environment, but they were gone too fast.

Still, I really wanted to see director Ido Fluk’s film about Keith Jarrett’s legendary Cologne concert on 24 January 1975 – a performance that was recorded and became one of the best-selling solo jazz albums of all time: The Köln Concert.

I left that arena two hours later with mixed feelings.

It’s not a bad film, but a very different one than I expected.