Aquaplaning(1987)

Aquaplaning is a German film about a student who takes a job as a pool attendant at an open-air swimming pool in Berlin's Neukölln district to escape financial hardship and a troubled relationship. When winter closes the baths and swimmers disappear, he transforms the empty grounds into a solitary refuge, gradually retreating from reality and social pressure. The film balances a surreal premise with understated poetic sensibility, avoiding gimmickry through its playful yet simple execution. Werner Stocker delivers a splendid performance as the protagonist, while a young Martina Gedeck appears as his lover Patrizia. This impressionist miniature captures the tension between escape and detachment with a subtle touch rarely seen in contemporary German cinema.