Geschlechterkampf – Das Ende des Patriarchats (2023)

Marga, who lives in Berlin and is originally from Russia, has worked as a stage actress at well-known theaters. Since turning 40, lucrative roles have stopped coming her way, and she can tolerate her employment adviser’s (Lars Rudolph) supposedly well-meaning advice only with great indignation. Ultimately, he pressures her into retraining, forcing her to work as an interviewer at a call center. She works off her anger at a system based on patriarchal norms through kickboxing, and finds herself in situations where she is confronted with various forms of racist discrimination and sexualized violence by men. After a one-night stand with Buffalo Bill (Daniel Zillmann), he unexpectedly develops strong feelings for Marga. Despite being rejected several times, he remains attached to her and persistently follows her through the streets of Berlin on his pony. Marga meets various women, including the convenience-store clerk (Artemis Chalkidou), with whom she throws an aggressive customer out of the shop. Sitting in a bar with her friends (Inga Busch and Kathrin Angerer), she exchanges sarcastic thoughts about men’s continued dominance. At a milonga, she meets a woman (Isabel Thierauch), with whom she plunges into a passionate tango and later spends the night. With the woman’s help, Marga manages to push Buffalo Bill off a roof. He survives and angrily continues on with his pony. In a café, Marga is engrossed in Lady Bitch Ray’s book Yalla, Feminismus! when Lady Bitch Ray unexpectedly walks in and starts a conversation with her. In one scene, Marga is in a boat with journalist and author Theresa Bücker, who explains her feminist views. The film depicts various forms of harassment by men, such as mansplaining, catcalling, and unwanted touching in a club. These scenes are interspersed with short sequences in which Marga looks directly into the camera and recites quotations by famous women writers, feminists, and artists.