I was at Home, but… (GER 2019, Angela Schanelec)
GER/SRB 2019, D: Angela Schanelec, A: Maren Eggert, Jakob Lassalle, Clara Möller, Franz Rogowski, Lilith Stangenberg, Alan Williams, Jirka Zett, Dane Komljen, 105’, german OV with engl. Subtitles
Is it possible for a feature film to authentically deal with death? What does it mean when an actor pretends to be mortally ill – is this ethically and aesthetically acceptable or is it merely a lie? Can images convey a truth that is not personal but universal? In her new film, Angela Schanelec has her protagonist Astrid express these problems directly. Astrid has lost her husband and the father of two mutual children. A friend of her treating this very subject in his artistic work, gets accused by her of having overstepped the boundary of presentability. Schanelec takes a different approach: like Yasujirō Ozu’s silent film “I was born, but”, which the title of Schanelec’s film follows, her film narrates via absent things, omissions, the before and after of dramatic happenings. What can be seen is the condition of the characters. Impressions can be found in their physical presence – dirt, wounds, illness, posture and gestures. The actors’ surface turns their personality concrete. Bodies isolate themselves. Interactions provoke eruptions. Fears turn outward. Touch soothes. The actors embrace their role physically instead of performing it in a naturalistic and realistic way. Schanelec does not care about any enactment of fate. She shows a snapshot of everyday melancholy. Her images’ strict concept uncovers truth and enables the viewer to feel sympathy by understanding.
12 April, 8 pm – Luru Kino at the Spinnerei – € 6,5 (5,5 red.)
Excerpt
