Christian Petzold | Germany | 2008 | M violence, offensive language, sex scenes
The vanguard figure of the ‘New Berlin School’, Christian Petzold (Yella) brings his steely eye and mesmerising regular actress Nina Hoss to a 21st-century refit of The Postman Always Rings Twice set in the beautiful, economically hard-pressed German North East. Following a fateful encounter, Ali, an affable but shrewd and boozy Turkish businessman turns to Thomas, a mysterious and handsome ex-soldier, for help in managing his product distribution to his string of 45 snack bars. Sparks ignite when Thomas meets Ali's willowy, blonde wife Laura (Hoss) and the two attempt, though rather poorly, to suppress their mutual mounting desire. A meticulously constructed story of betrayal, secrecy, and sexual passion, Jerichow deftly plays with the conventions of a love triangle, and fashions a chamber piece that is pristinely shot, intricately detailed, and finely acted, flirting with but ultimately defying genre. – Andréa Picard, Cinematheque Ontario
Screened in cooperation with the Goethe-Institut.
