CERN CineClub - Beresina or The Last Days of Switzerland
Directed by Daniel Schmid
Switzerland, 1999, 106 minutes
Beresina, or the Last Days of Switzerland chronicles the story of Irina, a Russian call girl arriving in Switzerland, whose innocent attempt to live the high life there triggers unintended coup d'etat 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 are also depicted ironically. Even the national identity and modern history of Switzerland are caricaturized in the country's first ever coup d'état sequences. The film culminates with Irina's coronation as Queen of Switzerland.
Original version German; English subtitles