★ 7 / 10
Paula Beer is "Undine", holding down a rather
CinemaSerf
Paula Beer is "Undine", holding down a rather mundane job lecturing on the historical urban development of Berlin. She is also suffering the final throes of…
Paula Beer is "Undine", holding down a rather mundane job lecturing on the historical urban development of Berlin. She is also suffering the final throes of her relationship with "Johannes" (Jacob Matschenz) whom she still loves. As with the original Paracelcus myth (upon which this is based), she must avenge herself on anyone who betrays her - and we gradually begin to understand that there is much more to her than meets the eye. An heavy rain shower is instrumental in introducing her to "Christoph" (Franz Rogowski) and she finds another love but when she disappears into a lake, he must search... It really does help if you have some familiarity with the story of the eponymous water nymph - otherwise much of this will seem disjointed. The use of the sunken boat in the lake, and strong efforts from Beer and Rogowski give this a depth to it; the characterisations develop slowly but definitely. True, Christian Petzold does take his time, and what is effectively quite a short story can seem a little overly padded now and again, but the imagery under the water and the subtly of the story are well carried by all. It made better sense to me second time round, and is well worth 90 minutes. If you do enjoy it, try the 1916 version - that is shorter and just as beautiful to watch.
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★ 7 / 10
a fairy tale of heartbreak
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Greetings again from the darkness. German filmmaker Christian Petzold has a track record of creating thought-provoking, intelligent, and ambitious films such…
Greetings again from the darkness. German filmmaker Christian Petzold has a track record of creating thought-provoking, intelligent, and ambitious films such as BARBARA (2012) and TRANSIT (2018). This time out he re-teams his TRANSIT co-stars Paula Beer and Franz Rogowski in a film that's more fable or fairy tale than conventional storytelling. If forced to label, we might go with Fantasy-Romance-Drama-Mystery, which really means the film doesn't easily fit into a known genre.
The film opens with a very uncomfortable break-up scene between Johannes (Jacob Matschentz) and Undine (Ms. Beer). When he says they are done, she responds, "If you leave me, I'll have to kill you. You know that." While researching the name Undine, I stumbled upon the 1811 German fairy tale of a water nymph Friedrich de la Motte Fouquet, which clearly inspired Petzold. The story has some similarities to "The Little Mermaid", itself a Danish fairy tale originally written by Hans Christian Anderson. It helps to know all of this upfront to prevent some of the frustration that goes with deciphering what is real and what is imagined.
As one would imagine, water is a recurring element throughout - beginning with Undine's chance and unusual café meet-cute with Christoph (Mr. Rogowski). The two find themselves attracted and connected after being drenched. Christoph is an industrial diver, so water is a part of his life ... as is 'Big Guenther', the legendary giant catfish he spots while on a job. Undine is a historian who holds sessions for tourists during which she recounts the architectural evolution and urban sprawl of Berlin over the past centuries, by utilizing scale models of the different eras. We also learn that "Berlin" means marsh, or a dry place in the marsh ... yet another water-related aspect.
Ms. Beer, who was so good in FRANTZ (2016) and NEVER LOOK AWAY (2018) continues her fine work, and reuniting with her TRANSIT co-star, Mr. Rogowski (VICTORIA, 2015) works out beautifully, as they have a nice rapport. Mr. Petzold's film has a supernatural element and is dreamlike at times, and though I've used the "fairy tale" description, it's clearly a very high concept film for grown-ups ... and there is enough humor ("Stayin' Alive by the Bee Gees) to offset the doomed relationships and Undine's return to her natural element. It's quite a trip for those who are up for it.
In theaters and On Demand June 4, 2021.
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