A comedy centered around a young couple in Germany from very different backgrounds, Kebab Connection makes light of many cultural stereotypes. At the beginning of the film, the main character, Ibo, a young man in his early twenties of Turkish decent, impregnates his aspiring actress, German girlfriend, Titzi (short for Patricia). He struggles inwardly to cope with this dilemma, and upon accepting his soon-to-be fatherhood he finally tells his family the news. Hearing that his only son has impregnated a German girl, his father flies off the handle. “What have I always told you son?” his father asks. Dumbfounded, Ibo replies, “get my taxi-drivers’ license?” There is a short,humorous flashback to Ibo’s childhood with his father telling him, “you can go to bed with a German girl, you can wake up with a German girl, but never, NEVER get a German girl pregnant.” In the end, however, the family accepts Ibo’s German girlfriend and mother of his child-to-be as part of the family.
Placing his characters in very culturally stereotypic roles, director Anno Saul confronts these cultural stereotypes in a comedic and lighthearted way. Ibo’s father is a taxi driver, his uncle a miserly Doner restaurateur. Across the street from Ibo’s uncle’s business is a Greek restaurant whose owner, in the beginning, is portrayed as a fat, old man who hates Turkish food, people, and culture. In the end, however, both the Ouzo-drinking Greek, and Ibo’s dolma-hating uncle come together to defend their restaurants against three members of a local mob demanding money from them for “protection”.
This film is an entertaining view of the new, multicultural Germany – it’s benefits and hardships displayed in an anything but serious light. Saul has done a terrific job in confronting multicultural issues faced in Germany today and bringing these issues to the table for open discussion.
