Charming and brutal

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

Set in a tiny farm in Northern Germany, a stodgy German farmer becomes a belatedly caring husband as he hides the fact that the world is ending in two days from his wife who putters about noting his behavior is unusual. When the electricity is cut off they attempt to grill a pork-loin outdoors, only to be drenched by an increasing rainfall. The fiery destruction of his model train layout symbolizes the devastation they will soon undergo. Or will they? He resignedly makes two cups of valerian-laced tea to put himself to sleep & lies down beside her, only to awake to a sunny morning. Was it only a nightmare? I watched it before dawn on KQED (S.F. PBS) on Columbus Day & was terrified from beginning to end.