''Beresina, or the Last Days of Switzerland'' (german: Beresina oder Die letzten Tage der Schweiz) is a 1999

satiric Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming or ...

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

by Swiss director

Daniel Schmid Daniel Walter Schmid (26 December 1941 – 5 August 2006) was a Swiss theatre and film director. Biography In 1982, his film ''Hécate'' was entered into the 33rd Berlin International Film Festival. His film ''Beresina, or the Last Days of Swi ...

. It chronicles the story of Irina, a

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

call girl A call girl or female escort is a sex worker who (unlike a street walker) does not display her profession to the general public, nor does she usually work in an institution like a brothel, although she may be employed by an escort agency.< ...

arriving in Switzerland, whose innocent attempt to live the high life there triggers an unintended ''

coup d'état A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...

'' in the country. The title ''Beresina'' refers to the '' Beresinalied'', a patriotic song used as the code for initiating the putsch. The film is a black comedy where all aspects of Swiss life are satirized in anecdotes. The heroine deals with a retired P-26 officer who appears as her false "sponsor" and various sexual perverts at the top of Swiss social hierarchy. Their attitudes to

immigrants Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, a ...

are also depicted ironically. Even the

national identity National identity is a person's identity or sense of belonging to one or more states or to one or more nations. It is the sense of "a nation as a cohesive whole, as represented by distinctive traditions, culture, and language". National identity ...

and modern

history of Switzerland Since 1848 the Swiss Confederation has been a federal republic of relatively autonomous cantons, some of which have a history of federation that goes back more than 700 years, putting them among the world's oldest surviving republics. The ear ...

are caricaturized in the country's first ever ''coup d'état'' sequences. The film culminates with Irina's

coronation A coronation is the act of placement or bestowal of a crown upon a monarch's head. The term also generally refers not only to the physical crowning but to the whole ceremony wherein the act of crowning occurs, along with the presentation of ot ...

as Queen of Switzerland. ''Beresina'' was screened in the

Un Certain Regard (, meaning 'a certain glance') is a section of the Cannes Film Festival's official selection. It is run at the Debussy, parallel to the competition for the . This section was introduced in 1978 by Gilles Jacob. The section presents 20 films w ...

section at the

1999 Cannes Film Festival The 52nd Cannes Film Festival was held from 12 to 23 May 1999. Canadian filmmaker, actor and author David Cronenberg was the Jury President. The Palme d'Or went to the French– Belgian film ''Rosetta'' by Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne. The festi ...

Cast

Reception

The film was praised by ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'', where Schmid "applies his wicked sense of humour", to create a "rollicking socio-political farce that roasts just about everyone in power." The review also explained how Schmid uses "black humour to expose Swiss high society as a hypocritical facade hiding secrets from money-laundering to pimping, with the banks involved in absolutely everything."Young, Deborah. ''Beresina, or the Last Days of Switzerland''. Variety. 7 June 1999. p. 29

References

External links

* * Austrian comedy films Swiss comedy films 1999 films German comedy films 1990s German-language films 1999 comedy films Films directed by Daniel Schmid Films set in Switzerland 1990s German films {{Switzerland-film-stub