City Cinema: Köln 75

Drama/Music. PG, language, violence, drug use.
Dir: Ido Fluk, Germany/Poland/Belgium, 2025, 116 min.
Mala Emde, John Magaro, Michael Chernus. In German and English with English subtitles.

“On 24th January 1975, jazz musician Keith Jarrett performed to a sell-out crowd at Köln’s Opera House whilst playing a broken piano. The recording has since become the best-selling solo jazz album of all time…  Köln 75 tells the amazing true story of how the evening came to be… When 18-year-old aspiring promoter Vera Brandes throws herself into the bohemian live music scene, she causes a stir with her infectious enthusiasm… Meanwhile, Jarrett was touring on the road in Germany… his path inevitably crosses with Vera’s, and the wheels behind the concert are set in motion… The first chapter is essentially the coming-of-age tale of our protagonist. Skipping class, clashing with her conservative parents, and navigating teen romance(s), Vera lights up the screen… the middle third shifts focus to Jarrett’s more sombre route to the famous stage, but the elements come together nicely for an exhilaratingly chaotic final act… We get a real sense of Brandes’ fun and riotous nature through Mala Emde’s leading turn… Magaro is compelling in the role of Jarrett… he paints a vivid portrait of a tortured artist… There’s an intoxicating punk rock spirit to Köln 75’s jazz-infused narrative.” —Garry Arnot, Cinema Perspective