In the late 1970s, punk arrived in Germany from England and New York. In his documentary, Reto Caduff focuses on the women in German-language punk. In interviews, musicians talk about the beginnings and endings of their careers. The film concentrates on three groups, the dark noise band from Berlin Malaria! and Mania D, the shabby guitar punk band Östro 430 from Düsseldorf, and the Swiss band Kleenex. “Just do it“ isn’t just the title of the doc, it’s the approach of these bands. The DIY attitude of punk opened the possibility for young women the try things out, be amateurish, and developing their own sound this way.

In a good mixture of interviews and archival footage, the doc shows the structures and experiences which the “female bands“ were part of. The musicians emphasize that this label didn’t play a big role for them. Instead of demanding space, they just created their own. Even if fame and money were rarely in sight. The fact that the now cult band Malaria! didn’t get a record deal is also a women’s thing. While Gudrun Gut and Bettina Köster stayed in the business, Östro 420 and ONETWOTHREE, with members from Kleenex and TNT, are resuming their old careers and reinventing themselves. Maybe it’s because Martina Weith from Östro 430 has no kids at home anymore, the bourgeois life decision. A thrilling look into the “herstory“ of West German punk and its creators, which sometimes turns out to be a bit stiffer in its questions than the artists deserve.

Clarissa Lempp (INDIEKINO MAGAZIN)

Translation: Elinor Lewy