German filmmaker Jens Meurer has had a huge success in his native land with this vivid and richly affectionate anglophile documentary. I think I can see why, and it could even turn into a German national TV tradition – like Dinner for One, the English-language drawing room comedy sketch that the Germans love watching at Christmas. Could it be that a German documentary about an English seaside town will show us all the way ahead, and heal the psychic wounds of Brexit?
Seaside Special is all about Cromer on the north Norfolk coast in the distant summer of 2019 – and mostly about all the local people preparing to take part in the annual end-of-the-pier show, the last of its kind in the UK, or for that matter the world. This theatrical event itself looks like a terrifically enjoyable variety gang show: with naughty gags, brassy musical numbers, Hollywood homages and pop songs. It is a bit like the BBC’s 70s programme Seaside Special (does Meurer really know about that?) or the old kids’ TV show Crackerjack.
