Toni Erdmann

Written and directed by Maren Ade, Toni Erdmann is the story of a woman who gets an unexpected visit from her father as he tries to reconnect with her by pretending to be a life coach for a CEO she’s trying to do business with. The film is an exploration of a father-daughter relationship in which a man returns to the life of his estranged daughter who wants little to do with her father as she’s trying to go for her own ambitions. Starring Peter Simonischek, Sandra Huller, Ingrid Bisu, Michael Wittenborn, Thomas Loibl, Lucy Russell, and Vlad Ivanov. Toni Erdmann is an offbeat and engaging film from Maren Ade.

The film follows a man who spontaneously decides to visit his businesswoman daughter from his small German home to Bucharest, Romania where she is not happy with the surprise business just as she’s trying to finish a business deal. During his time with her, he would create a persona by pretending to be a life coach for a CEO by sporting a wig and false teeth creating chaos wherever he is at. The film’s screenplay by writer/director Maren Ade doesn’t just explore the diverging lifestyles of Winifried Conradi (Peter Simonischek) and his daughter Ines (Sandra Huller) but also Ines’ own ambition in being a consultant in this outsourcing project in the oil industry in Bucharest. Her work leaves her little time to be with family as well as having a life of her own to socialize or do anything spontaneous. When Winifried arrives to Bucharest following the death of his dog unexpectedly, Ines is in shock as she reluctantly has her father accompanying her where things don’t go well.

Much of the first act is about Winifried and Ines as the former accompanies the latter who is trying to get a deal going while the second act is about the persona that Winifried has created in a life coach called Toni Erdmann. Erdmann’s presence would baffle and annoy Ines as he would charm not just some colleagues but also those she’s trying to deal with. Even as she is forced to deal with aspects of her own life that is unfulfilling and often predictable as it would come into play during the film’s third act. Though some of scenes that Ade creates in the script can be overly stretched due to the exploration of the characters as it can meander. It does help show this unique relationship between father and daughter that is problematic but also filled with love.

Ade’s direction for the film is offbeat in terms of her approach to the humor and drama as she would create things that are odd but also moments that are simple. Shot partially on location in rural parts of Germany as much of the film is shot mainly in and around Bucharest. Ade plays into this world that is very modern which Ines is a part of as it’s confusing for someone like Winifried who used to be a hippie that teaches part-time to school children. Much of Ade’s compositions are straightforward as there’s a few wide shots as Ade would favor the usage of close-ups and medium shots while she knows what to do to create something that feels chaotic and spontaneous. Much of it has Ade taking her time where it would lag in certain parts of the film while there are moments that show what Winifried would do as Erdmann does break away from some of the monotony in Ines’ life.

One scene where Ines is having dinner with friends as Erdmann is in the background trying to move his table closer as it is quite funny while the scene where Erdmann and Ines visit a Romanian family on Easter show Ines starting to come out of the shell she had created. Especially in the third act where Ines is forced to see the lack of freedom in her life with her father still just trying to be there for his daughter. Overall, Ade creates a witty yet compelling film about a man trying to bring some chaos into his daughter’s overworked life.

Cinematographer Patrick Orth does excellent work with the film’s cinematography as it’s straightforward for many of the scenes in the daytime along with some lighting for some of the scenes at night including a few parties and such. Editor Heike Parplies does nice work with the editing as it is straightforward with very little stylistic cuts in favor to play into the drama and some of the humor. Production designer Silke Fischer, with set decorator Katja Schlomer and art director Malina Ionescu, does fantastic work with the look of the hotel room that Ines lives in the city as well as her apartment as well as the messy house that Winifried lives in.

Costume designer Gitti Fuchs does terrific work with the costumes as it mostly casual with everyone wearing business suits or designer dresses as the big highlight comes in someone wearing this Bulgarian kukeri costume. Sound editor Fabian Schmidt, with sound designers Erik Mischijew and Matz Muller, does superb work with the sound as it play into the different locations and how they’re presented via sound as much of the music in the film is played on location with the exception of the Cure’s Plainsong for the film’s final credits.

The casting by Viorica Capdefier, Nina Haun, and Amanda Tabak is great as it feature some notable small roles and appearances from Vlad Ivanova as a Romanian local living near an oil well that Winifried befriends, Hadewych Minis as a Romanian woman Winifried meets as he attends her Easter party, Victoria Cocias as a friend of Ines, Thomas Loibl as Ines’ boss Gerald, Trystan Putter as a colleague and sometimes lover of Ines in Tim, Lucy Russell as a friend/colleague of Ines in Steph, Michael Winttenborn as a CEO named Hennenberg that Ines is trying make a deal with, and Ingrid Bisu as Ines’ young assistant Anca who tries make everything goes to plan for Ines as well as deal with Winifried. 

Sandra Huller is brilliant as Ines as a business consultant trying to deal with the chaos in her work life as well as the lack of free time for herself as she is annoyed by the presence of her father as it forces her to see how predictable and dull her life is. Finally, there’s Peter Simonischek in an amazing performance as Winifried as a former music teacher who deals with the death of his dog and lack of contact with his daughter as he decides to surprise her as it’s a calm though offbeat performance for the most part until he becomes the titular character where he is just full of life and absolute chaos.

Toni Erdmann is a marvelous film from Maren Ade. Featuring great performances from Peter Simonischek and Sandra Huller as well as captivating story of a man trying to reconnect with his overworked daughter. It’s a film that explores the idea of spontaneity in life as well as the need to not have everything in control though the film does go overlong in some bits. In the end, Toni Erdmann is a remarkable film from Maren Ade.

Maren Ade Films: (The Forest for the Trees) – (Everyone Else)

© thevoid99 2017

Angel (2007 film)

Based on the novel by Elizabeth Taylor, Angel is the story of a writer who is eager to succeed while enduring all sorts of trials and tribulations throughout the course of her life. Directed by Francois Ozon and screenplay by Ozon and Martin Crimp, the film is a look into the life of a woman who is eager to succeed yet deals with the reality she tries to run away from in her life. Starring Romola Garai, Michael Fassbender, Sam Neill, Lucy Russell, and Charlotte Rampling. Angel is a gorgeous yet extravagant melodrama from Francois Ozon.

The film is essentially a rise-and-fall tale told in a melodramatic style about a young girl named Angel Deverell (Romola Garai) who craves to live a life that doesn’t exist as she constantly writes stories filled with imagination and fantasy in the hopes to succeed and live a rich, fabulous life. Once she’s published and becomes successful, she has everything a woman could want in the early 20th Century including the love of her life in an artist named Esme` (Michael Fassbender) and a supportive assistant in Esme’s sister Nora (Lucy Russell). When World War I arrives and Esme` decides to enlist, Angel’s world crumbles little by little as her book sales decline as well as her detachment from reality leading to elements of tragedy and despair.

Francois Ozon’s screenplay that features additional dialogue from Martin Crimp play into that rise and fall schematic where they use a traditional structure to convey the journey of this woman who is ambitious and talented but also very self-centered, melodramatic, and is practically a dreamer. Still, there is something about Angel Deverell that is intriguing for someone who has this idea about what people should strive for and how she expects to be treated. While her publisher Theo (Sam Neill) is intrigued by her ambition as well as the stories she writes. She is disliked by his wife Hermione (Charlotte Rampling) who sees Angel as an outrageous dreamer with no sense of reality. While she does have another admirer in Nora who would eventually become Angel’s caretaker, there are things in Angel’s world that includes the house called Paradise that seems very surreal.

The film’s second half has this sense of collision between reality and fiction where Angel deals with World War I from afar as she starts to not just lose touch with an ever-changing world. She is in complete denial over the fact that her work is too detached from that ever-changing world which doesn’t reflect anything that she is surrounded by. It’s a character who is very flawed and can be very despicable towards people as she would try to get Esme` to paint things that doesn’t really suit what he’s feeling as he couldn’t live up to her idea of what he should be as he is carrying a secret of his own that only his sister and later Theo would know. The third act isn’t just about the tragedy Angel deals with but also some harsh truth that she faces not just about herself but also the world that she had wanted to leave behind in the beginning of the film.

Ozon’s direction is very stylish in not just the way he presents the film as this rise-and-fall melodrama but also in the moments where reality and fantasy collide. Notably as there’s scenes where Angel is traveling with these artificial backdrops to play up this idea that she’s living a life that is extraordinary and lives up to what she thinks is the way to live. There’s compositions that do play up something that would recall these period-costume films filled with lavish set pieces and gorgeous costumes. Even as it plays to that idea of melodrama where a woman is so full of herself as she has to make a grand entrance to make people believe she is great. It’s all part of this world in the film’s first half that builds up to Angel being a woman that people admire and revere for her work.

By the film’s second half, Ozon goes for less artificiality while upping the melodrama even more where it plays into Angel’s sense of denial about the real world as well as the fact that Esme` is a man eager to find himself only to come back the war a ravaged and detached man. With Esme` wanting to pull away from Angel, he has no choice but to come back to her as she welcomes back in a grand style oblivious to what he is feeling. It does lead to this very dreary third act where the shots are much tighter and the drama is stripped-down a bit to unveil the sense of loss of not just what Angel is feeling but also the realization of a world that has changed and in no need of her at the moment which does lead to an ending that is quite extravagant in some respects to who Angel Deverell is. Overall, Ozon creates a very fascinating and exhilarating film about the rise-and-fall of a dreamer.

Cinematographer Denis Lenoir does brilliant work with the film‘s very gorgeous cinematography that is filled with lush images for some of its exteriors and interiors as it‘s colorful as well as intoxicating to look at. Editor Muriel Breton does nice work with the editing to create some wonderful jump-cuts to play with the rhythm while keeping things methodical for some of its drama. Production designer Katia Wyszkop, with set decorator Gerard Marcireau and art director Alexandra Lassen, does amazing work with the set pieces from the lavish home that is Paradise to some of the halls and places set in the early 20th Century.

Costume designer Pascaline Chavanne does fantastic work with the costumes to play up Angel‘s vivacious personality as it has her becoming a young woman being poor to someone being glamorous with all of these expensive dresses. Visual effects supervisor Daniel Trujillo does terrific work with some of the backdrops that is created in Angel‘s travels to showcase her idea of the world as she‘s disconnected from reality. Sound editor Benoit Hillebrant does excellent work with the sound to capture some of the atmosphere of the intimate moments of the film as well as some of the livelier moments such as the play Angel attends based on one of her books. The film’s music by Philippe Rombi is just exquisite for its serene yet soaring orchestral flourishes with some lush string arrangements and melancholic piano pieces to play up the melodrama.

The casting by Karen Lindsay-Stewart is superb for the ensemble that is created as it features some notable small roles from Simon Woods as an art curator looking into Esme’s work, Christopher Benjamin as Esme` and Nora’s uncle Lord Norley, Jemma Powell as a woman Esme` knew in Angelique, Janine Duvitski as Angel’s aunt Lottie, and Jacqueline Tong as Angel’s mother whom Angel would later claim that she was a famous concert pianist. Charlotte Rampling is wonderful in a small but crucial role as Theo’s wife Hermione who watches Angel from afar with some disdain while later gaining her pity to see how far she’s fallen. Sam Neill is excellent as Angel’s publisher Theo who takes on the young writer as he’s amazed by her work while also falling for her from afar as he also tries to deal with her disconnect from the real world.

Lucy Russell is great as Nora as a woman who goes from an admirer of Angel to someone who is devoted to make sure she is in a good state of mind while forcing to carry secrets to not make Angel lose control. Michael Fassbender is amazing as Esme` as a man eager to succeed with his own approach to art while dealing with the expectations he’s been saddled with when he’s with Angel as he is later undone by his time in World War I. Finally, there’s Romola Garai in a magnificent performance as the titular character as a woman who is clearly someone filled with imagination but couldn’t handle the idea of reality as Garai isn’t afraid to make the character very un-likeable at times while displaying a bit of sympathy to a woman who later endures tragedy in her life.

Angel is a splendid and delightful film from Francois Ozon that features a mesmerizing performance from Romola Garai. Along with a supporting cast that includes Michael Fassbender, Sam Neill, Lucy Russell, and Ozon cohort Charlotte Rampling. The film is definitely one of Ozon’s most stylish as well as intriguing films that explores the plight of dreamers. While it’s a film that can be overwhelming at times, it is still fascinating to showcase a woman’s rise and fall as she is disconnected from reality. In the end, Angel is an extraordinary film from Francois Ozon.

Francois Ozon Films: See the Sea - Sitcom - Criminal Lovers - Water Drops on Burning Rocks - Under the Sand - 8 Women - Swimming Pool - 5x2 - Time to Leave - Ricky - The Refuge - Potiche - In the House - Jeune & Jolie - (The New Girlfriend) - (Frantz (2016 film)) - (Double Lover) - (By the Grace of God) - Summer of 85 - (Everything Went Fine) - (Peter von Kant) - The Auteurs #33: Francois Ozon

© thevoid99 2013

Following (1998 film)

Written, shot, co-edited, and directed by Christopher Nolan, Following is the story of a man who follows strangers around London where one of the strangers he follows lead him to a dark underworld that he has become entranced by. The film is a neo-noir story that revolves around memories as it would later play to the themes that Nolan would explore in the years to come. Starring Jeremy Theobald, Lucy Russell, Alex Haw, John Nolan, and Dick Bradsell. Following is an eerie noir film from Christopher Nolan.

A young writer (Jeremy Theobald) who likes to follow around people in London has been following a man whom he’s intrigued by. Revealing to be a thief named Cobb (Alex Haw), the writer meets Cobb who likes to steal things from people’s home where he shows Cobb the ropes on how to be a thief. Taking on a different identity, the young writer starts to steal on his own where he falls for a beautiful blonde (Lucy Russell) who is having issues with a club owner (Dick Bradsell) where she claims to have photos that is in his safe. After stealing the owner’s safe, things go wrong when the writer realizes what is really going on as he is eventually interrogated by a police officer (John Nolan).

The film is about a young writer who likes to follow people where he eventually mimics the life of a thief only to get caught up in a dark world of theft, blackmail, and murder. A lot of it is told in a non-linear structure as it’s based on this young man talking to a police investigator as he reflects on everything that has happened. The screenplay does include a lot of exposition in how the life of a thief is told for the young writer to eventually figure out how to take on this life. Since the film plays to a lot of the schematics of the film noir, there has to be a femme fatale in the story as the blonde the young writer falls for isn’t exactly who she seems to be. Notably as there’s a twist that will occur late in the story to play up everything the young writer has endured.

Christopher Nolan’s direction is very entrancing for the way he presents the film as he creates an air of surrealism to its non-linear structure. A lot of it will include repeated images as well as the fact that the young writer would have a look that is similar to Cobb to make things confusing. Shot in black-and-white, the film has a very evocative look where it harkens to some of the early films of Stanley Kubrick while there’s a lot of hand-held shots to make it much more different. Notably as it features gorgeous yet eerie interior shots to play up the suspense as the overall work shows a young director making his mark with a solidly-crafted noir film.

Nolan and co-editor Gareth Heal do excellent work with the editing to play out the film‘s non-linear structure in the use of repetition and rhythmic cuts to play out the unconventional feel of the film. Art director Tristan Martin does nice work with look of the apartments the writer and Cobb rob including the nightclub where the blonde works at. The sound work of Ivan Cornell, David Julyan, David Lloyd, and James Wheeler is great for the atmosphere that is created in the robbery scenes in the way objects sound. The music of David Julyan is superb for its mixture of hypnotic ambient pieces to more thrilling electronic-driven music to play out the film’s suspense.

The casting for the film is incredible as it includes some notable small appearances from Dick Bradsell as the bald club owner the blonde feels threatened by and Christopher Nolan’s father John as the detective who interrogates the young writer. Lucy Russell is wonderful as the seductive blonde who is charmed by the young writer as she tries to get him involved in a crime that would cause trouble. Alex Haw is great as the thief Cobb who shows the young writer what to do in the world of theft while also being very shady about who he is. Finally there’s Jeremy Theobald in a marvelous performance as the young writer who starts off as this following slacker into a man that looks and plays the role of a professional thief only to realize the trouble he’s embarked on.

Following is a remarkable and clever debut film from Christopher Nolan. It is definitely a film that any fan of Nolan’s work should see as it would feature many small references to some of the work he would do in the years to come. Fans of noir films will definitely see this as a unique take on the genre in how it’s mapped out visually and schematically. In the end, Following is a brilliant film from Christopher Nolan.

Christopher Nolan Films: Memento - Insomnia (2002 film) - Batman Begins - The Prestige - The Dark Knight - Inception - The Dark Knight Rises - Interstellar - Dunkirk - Tenet - Oppenheimer - The Auteur #13: Christopher Nolan

© thevoid99 2012