This Is Not Berlin (2019) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Carlos feels disconnected at home and at school, he rejects his family's dream that he become an engineer, despite being skilled with electronics. When he helps a friend repair an electric keyboard, he earns a ride to Aztek, a secretive underground club that reveals a hidden world of post-punk rebellion. The club offers him the freedom and acceptance he cannot find anywhere else.

Foreshadowing: Earlier scenes show Carlos selling his father's nude magazines and tinkering with devices alone, hinting at his search for something beyond his ordinary life.

• carlos
• aztek club
• mexico city
• underground
• rebellion

When Carlos enters a secret room at the club, a modern art critic loudly denounces the artists for lacking originality and copying European trends, shouting that "this is not Berlin." The line highlights the tension between the underground scene's attempt at artistic rebellion and accusations that it's merely imitating European avant-garde movements.

Foreshadowing: The club's provocative art and surreal performances setup the debate about originality versus imitation.

• this is not berlin
• title
• art critic
• originality
• european

Gera and Carlos want to return to the Aztek club but lack transportation, so Gera steals his father's car. They are turned away at the gate, and the car gets vandalized with the stereo stolen. Both Gera and his sister Rita face punishment for the theft, but it doesn't stop them from finding other ways to return.

Foreshadowing: The warning at soccer practice about the club being full of "gays and male prostitutes" hints at the danger and transgressive nature that draws them.

• gera
• car theft
• father car
• aztek club

Carlos's mother is going through a severe mental health crisis, swinging between furious outbursts and long stretches of sleep. Carlos often has to take care of his younger brother, cooking meals and managing household responsibilities while she is unable to function normally.

Foreshadowing: The chaos at home contrasts sharply with the freedom Carlos finds at the club, making his descent into the underground increasingly appealing.

• carlos mother
• mental health
• family crisis
• mood swings

As Carlos becomes more deeply involved in the club's surreal world, he begins participating in its extreme acts, including public nudity and gory theatrical performances. He shaves part of his head as a symbol of his break from conventional society and starts skipping school, fully embracing the underground identity.

Foreshadowing: His earlier rejection of his family's engineering dreams and his growing comfort with the club's radical expression foreshadow this total transformation.

• carlos
• shaved head
• skip school
• underground

Nico, who initially guides Carlos into the secret room at the club, begins making sexual advances toward him. Carlos isn't ready to cross that line, he hasn't fully processed everything happening around him, from his family crisis to the overwhelming sensory experiences at the club. His rejection reflects his confusion and hesitation despite his immersion in the club's sexually fluid environment.

Foreshadowing: The secret room's explicit bisexual freedom and drug experimentation create an environment where such advances are expected, making Carlos's reluctance more significant.

• carlos
• nico
• sexual advances
• rejection
• aztek club

Carlos's uncle was the one who taught him about electronics and sparked his passion for tinkering with devices. When his uncle suddenly dies, Carlos loses the one person who truly understood his skills and interests. This loss compounds his sense of grief and drives him further into the club's orbit as he seeks escape from his pain.

Foreshadowing: Carlos's exceptional electronics skills were established early, showing the meaningful connection between him and his uncle.

• carlos uncle
• death
• electronics
• grief

At a send-off event for the soccer team, Carlos and the club group stage a provocative demonstration. They project footage showing supposed team members engaging in sexual acts with each other. The stunt is meant to shock and blur the lines between performance and reality, rejecting conventional sports culture and embracing the group's transgressive identity.

Foreshadowing: Earlier warnings about the club's nature and the group's growing radicalism foreshadow such a public, controversial act.

• soccer demo
• projected footage
• provocation
• performance

After a night of partying at the club, Gera is found unconscious lying near a toilet. The club's environment involves heavy drug use, and Gera's collapse appears to be a result of this substance use. Carlos rescues him and takes him back to his family, marking a low point in their night.

Foreshadowing: The club's secret room introduced drug experimentation early on, establishing the dangerous environment that leads to this moment.

• gera
• unconscious
• toilet
• drugs
• club

The police raid and condemn the Aztek club, arresting everyone inside including Carlos, Gera, and Nico. The crackdown represents the end of the underground sanctuary that had offered Carlos freedom from his troubled home life. The arrests bring the night to a bleak close and destroy the world Carlos had become immersed in.

Foreshadowing: The club's illegal activities, drug use, pornographic content, and public indecency, created an inevitable conflict with authorities.

• police raid
• arrests
• aztek club
• condemned

After the police raid, Gera and Carlos reconcile in the hospital. In this moment of vulnerability and clarity, Gera comes out to Carlos, revealing his homosexuality. This confession brings honest emotional depth to their friendship after all the chaos of the night, suggesting a hopeful personal connection despite the club's destruction.

Foreshadowing: Earlier warnings about the club being full of "gays" and Gera's one-night stand with a male friend foreshadow his true identity.

• gera
• homosexuality
• hospital
• coming out
• carlos