Ich war zuhause, aber...

This was one of the most boring movies I've ever seen. It is indeed waste of time for all. This kind of art is nothing. There must be a rationale, a purpose for the film making.

As a fan who has thoroughly enjoyed Angela Schanelec's works, I was somewhat disappointed after watching this film. There's no point in elaborating why, since many of the other reviewers have already done so here. Though visually and artistically well executed, as is the case with all her films, I walked away from this one with a feeling of unjustified vagueness. Yes, I agree with the Michael Haneke approach of placing the final onus of judgement or opinion in the minds of the audience, but I also believe the audience must at least have a cohesive story on which to base such a position.

The winner of the Silver Bear for Best Director at the Berlin Film Festival is a realistic, strange and ultimately extremely compelling piece of Arthouse cinema. Director Angela Schanelec stages a group of really talented actors and actresses in a strange and complex storyline about love, family and responsibilities. There are many meta aspects to this picture with many scenes indirectly referencing the fact that audiences are simply watching the illusion of characters portrayed by actors in a made up story. There is one particular scene involving two characters socialising about art that was so well written and acted, the entire audience clapped. When a young boy disappears without a trace for a week. Until he suddenly reappears again. From what follows is one of the strangest and challenging films I have ever seen. What was difficult to comprehend wasn't a convoluted plot or images that need to be analysed in order to be understood (this was not a David Lynch experience). Most of the scenes made sense, and the characters made sense. The story was just simple, a family having to go through troubles that we all face everyday. There are moments of love and compassion, but also moments of frustration and anger. Sometimes characters make decisions that seem out of place because no character is written to be a particular way. People are complicated and sometimes act out irrationally. This is what make I Was at Home, But such a compelling drama. It is a study about how we as humans interact and treat one another, how real are the emotions we feel for each other? Do we love or hate a certain person? Not a watch for everyone, definitely for fans of arthouse and social dissection films. However anyone looking for a more conventional family drama may leave disappointed as many plot points get lost or solved quickly.

Either the 'director' doesn't know how to tell stories or she takes herself too seriously. Actually, it is both, indeed. This is a disjointed movie that does not make any sense by the end, to a surprising ending that might explain its structure. Not only are there no characters to identify with whatsoever, as good stories have, the dialogues are overdone, senseless, and intended to dare, perhaps, the audience to go beyond what is said, but actually, they are empty. This piece of rubbish is a very personal waste of loads of money, with the excuse of being art. It is very likely the 'director' is projecting herself through the quite unlikable character of the mother. If she wanted to portray german society as sad, neurotic, flat people, she definitely succeeded. This movie, or whatever it is, is what happens in industrialized countries where people have so much they don't know what to do with it and themselves; they make absurdity and call it art and even award it with the silver bear! Unglaublich! Needless to say. DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME...

No surprise, this art-house masterpiece is about love and loss, about the dream-like surreal world you find yourself in after losing a loved one. Is our 'reality' more real than a dream? Is it more real than its reflection - in drama, dance, painting, sculpture, music, on a windowpane? Love and loss are always with us, no matter the age, no matter the epoch. Recommend to watch more than once.