The following blog was posted by Erik Kirschbaum, Berlin correspondent. 

 Gloomy German films about serial rapists, exorcism, left-wing guerrillas, Nazi villains, Stasi oppression, depressed people and other difficult subjects have often been selected by Berlin Film Festival organisers, giving the world a rather bleak look at the host country.

But this year’s main German entry “Kirschblueten - Hanami” (Cherry Blossoms) stands out as a surprisingly uplifting love story. The slick un-German-like production by German director Doris Doerrie, who also wrote the screenplay and may have acquired the light touch after spending several years earlier in her career in the United States, was quickly tipped by local critics as a favourite for festival honours after its world premiere on Monday.

“The goal was to move people but also have them walk out of the cinema happy,” said Doerrie. Mission accomplished. A crotchety Bavarian bureaucrat a year away from retirement, played magnificently by journeyman actor Elmar Wepper, is diagnosed with a terminal illness. But his loving wife, who has put up with a lifetime with the sourpuss, decides not to tell but instead try to enjoy the end with him. The story with a surprising twist takes him on a physical journey to Japan,  including to the cherry blossom festival, and a spiritual journey of discovery.