3+1 reasons why you have to see Köln 75
I like cinema. And I also like jazz, meditation and the 70s, so Köln 75 had everything to appeal to me. I enjoyed it. It is entertaining and a pleasure to see and hear…
But it contains also some value for this community of friends, whose passion and profession is sales, leadership or entrepreneurship.
Here are three plus one reasons why you have to see it. Three are universal and the fourth is special for you.
1.- Cinema
If good cinema is the one that keeps you on the edge of your seat and enjoying yourself, prevents you from blinking so you don’t miss a single frame, and takes you on an emotional rollercoaster that brings you close to laughter and tears, then Köln 75 is good cinema.
Ido Fluk effectively portrays 1970s Germany. From generational and political conflict to office objects and roads, everything plays a role in creating a universe from which we cannot and do not want to escape.
He uses unorthodox techniques, such as actors who look at the camera and give theoretical explanations or write secrets in the air. These are narrative sins that some professional analysts will hate, but they only the greats can get away with, using them with humour and complicity, without coming across as pretentious.
Mala Emde gives a brilliant, seductive and energetic performance as Vera Brandes, the main character whose real-life testimony inspired the film.
Alongside Vera, a series of hateful, endearing or pathetic characters unfold, and yet they are real… or perhaps it is precisely because they are real that they can be so hateful, so endearing, so pathetic.
Among them is one of the greatest jazz musicians of the 20th century, Keith Jarrett.
2. – Jazz
It is not a musical film, but jazz is in the air throughout. Lovers of this genre will enjoy this tribute to improvisation, creative freedom and experimentation. An ice cream parlour converted into a jazz club, a dentist’s office turned into a clandestine talent agency, a theatre of the ‘ ‘ opera and a half-broken rehearsal piano dedicated for the first time to improvisation… everything speaks of jazz.
With the journalist opening doors in the Zurich auditorium to show us the evolution of jazz from big bands to Keith Jarrett’s solo improvisations, always in search of greater freedom, we learn to understand the history of this music better than in any lengthy documentary or master class.
Keith Jarrett sitting silently at a piano, about to take the leap into the void and begin improvising music that has never existed before and will never exist again, is the best image of the mystery of jazz. But also of any creative process. Including your own.
– Aren’t you ever afraid of failure? the writer asks
– Every night, Jarrett replies.
3.- Meditation
Jarrett’s unique way of understanding music, free of references, grids and limits, cannot be separated from his spiritual quest. Probably no form of jazz, or perhaps of listening in general, can be completely separated from a meditative attitude.
There is a moment when the strange car journey along the roads from Zurich to Cologne is abruptly interrupted and a trio of characters walk sleepily across a field. The journalist wants to continue asking questions. The maestro says to him, “Do me a favour, shut up. Don’t say anything, just listen.” The characters listen to the silence, the viewer listens to the silence, and the silence, with its birds at dawn and distant cowbells, gradually transforms into a harmonious crescendo that captures our full attention.
This passage is an introduction to contemplative practice almost as inspiring as a yoga or mindfulness lesson. If you get it, it will serve as a good invitation to pause your mental chatter for a moment and allow yourself a few seconds of silence.
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But if these three reasons are not enough, or if your aesthetic preferences lie elsewhere, here is the fourth reason why you should see this film if you work in sales. The fourth reason, probably the most powerful, is called Vera Brandes.
4.- Vera Brandes
This teenage artist’s agent you’ll love has almost all the keys to success as a salesperson or entrepreneur. Here are a few.
Determination
Those who achieve their goals say that there is only one method: discard everything that does not lead to achievement. It’s easy to say, but sometimes we need examples to see that it’s possible. Vera is a good example. In a decade and at a fast-paced age, and without giving up her intense lifestyle, nothing distracts her. She knows exactly what she wants, and she doesn’t even consider the possibility of accepting any other outcome. The jazz wolf doesn’t consider becoming a dentist.
Perseverance
We see the perseverance since the start of the journey. On every “no” answer, there is always a new call looking for a yes. With self discipline and self motivation, and no space for quitting thoughts. And, just like in your sales real life, there is a moment when everything seems to be going really wrong. The whole world seems to be telling us it is time to quit. As long as there is some time left, there is a posibility to try. Look elsewhere. A new call, a new contact, a new piano. She works with discipline, creates her own motivation, and never listens to the naysayers. Nor the dentists.
Continued learning
You will for sure recognise yourself when you see Vera preparing her first calls. Rehearsing her opening lines in front of the mirror, writing a script for the conversation, inventing her title, searching for her voice, fighting her own insecurity… But also at a more advanced stage, discovering with horror that she didn’t know what a Bössendorfer Imperial was.
Courage
One of the tough calls in leadership is taking risk. The right thing to do would be asess scenarios, understand what we have to protect and what we pursue, and then decide… but we need to do it fast. Anyone can take a good decision when they have all the time and all the information needed. When we don’t have them, we need courage to decide on an uncomplete view and to asume personally the responsibility on potential failure. In her quick interview with the manager of the Opera, Vera burns her ships and writes the next chapters of her story and live. She know what she wants and what she risks. Teenager leadership at its best.
Emotional intelligence
The final conversation between Vera and Keith is pure spin selling in the corridor, embellished with punches on the door. If she succeeds, it is because she has understood the other person’s soul and where the pain lies, and in an inspiring yet ruthless way, she touches a nerve. The exact spot. “I’m giving you a chance.” In the midst of the drama, seeing where the win-win agreement lies. Isn’t that what we’re trying to do?
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Köln 75: an entertaining film, nice to watch for jazz fans, and a good inspiration for salespeople and entrepreneurs.
Because without a certain spark of rebellion, there is no jazz, no sales, no entrepreneurship.
But neither without discipline, continuous learning and perseverance.
Now, off to the cinema. Enjoy.