Willkommen um zu bleiben

Saw this at the Imagine 2024 film festival in Amsterdam, where it was the main course at the formal opening. Very strange story, impossible to condense in a few sentences, other than what the synopsis on various websites already tried to tell us about this movie.

Kafka is referenced very often in the synopsis and reviews, and implicitly in the film title (Mr. K.) too. It is not bureaucracy being K's primary obstacle, but other people in the hotel, who are very happy the way it is now and don't want any change. The continuous drive K had to find the hotel exit, came initially from an early appointment he had the first day of his stay. Once he missed that, his urge to get out of the hotel persisted for no reason other than instinct.

A variety of mysterious circumstances and events hinder him on his way out, one of which is an often-appearing marching band passing through the hallways, without any goal or purpose, if only to confuse us as well as Mr. K. The walls and wallpaper start crackling, later revealing some vegetation, maybe suggesting that the hotel is in fact an organism with a purpose of its own. More such extraneous things pass by, none of those really eerie, merely unusual or unexpected, by lack of better words to describe what happened. K's whereabouts in the hotel's kitchen are even stranger, but what it means, if anything, can better be left to an unprepared viewer.

Quote: "We didn't need an exit before you came." From early on, we see the word Liberator painted on the wall near K's hotel room, obviously meaning something, but we don't know the author nor the reason why K is appointed that role. One moment he is respected, nearly worshipped as their liberator, and a few scenes later he is chased and attacked for destroying the hotel and ending everyone's peaceful existence. Neither is true, of course, but we don't know the real truth either. Maybe the best parody on normal life is demonstrated in the kitchen, with a peculiar hierarchy, and a head chef who sees some talent in K, only to feel challenged by him later.

The only objective evidence that unexplainable things are happening, and that the inhabitants cannot go on forever like they are used to, is the shrinking of the hotel rooms. We see the hotel guests cheerfully bringing their furniture to the corridor (which is also shrinking, but they do it anyway). Strangely enough, no inhabitant finds the shrinking building something to worry about. K's journey through the building lets us meet a variety of characters, all having their own role in defending the status quo as the way it should be, defying any changes.

Quote: "You look for the reception where you came into the hotel, to find the exit. Sometimes, the entrance is not the exit." (paraphrased). This comes from two wise-cracking elderly ladies, repeatedly offering him coffee and cake, seemingly in no way concerned about the world around them. They try to cheer up K, who is apparently in distress and deaf to their good-natured comments.

All in all, if you want a deeper showcase for the behavior of people living happily in their comfort zone, only to be disturbed in their happy isolation, this is an interesting and entertaining story. The "offender" causing the disturbance is ridiculed as well as worshipped. Instead of Kafka's struggle with bureaucracy, this Mr. K. must overcome the natural resistance of average people who clinch to their quiet and peaceful existence, and who also refuse to see a lurking danger that is obvious to us but not to them. You need an outsider to trigger change, or better said a revolution.

1. The Hotel as the Womb

The central setting, a remote and enclosed hotel, symbolizes the female womb. Mr. K enters it unknowingly-just as a sperm cell enters the egg-and finds himself unable to escape. This reflects the biological reality of conception, where once fertilization occurs, the sperm becomes part of a new process that cannot be reversed.

The phrase "The hotel is shrinking" represents the growing fetus within a finite space, gradually feeling more confined as it grows larger, mirroring the tightening womb.

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2. Mr. K as the Sperm Cell

Mr. K is not just a man trapped in a surreal situation-he's a metaphor for a sperm cell at the start of life. His isolation, confusion, and helplessness evoke the moment of transformation when a sperm becomes something else entirely, part of a new being forming in the womb.

His psychological distress mirrors cellular-level confusion or unconscious awareness of transformation.

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3. The Chefs as the Digestive System

The hotel is filled with chefs, all working tirelessly in kitchens. These chefs symbolize the digestive system, particularly the stomach, which plays a central role in nurturing life.

The act of cooking, preparing, and transforming raw ingredients into sustenance parallels the metabolic and nutritive processes inside the womb.

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4. The Twin Women as the Kidneys

The presence of twin women represents the kidneys, which are paired organs essential for filtering and balance in the human body.

Twins naturally symbolize symmetry and duality, making them an ideal metaphor for the kidneys.

Their role in the narrative (if calm, observant, or regulatory) would echo the kidneys' function of maintaining the body's internal balance.

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5. The Inescapability as a Symbol of Gestation

The fundamental fact that Mr. K cannot leave the hotel mirrors how a fetus cannot exit the womb until birth. He is trapped not by walls, but by a natural process that must complete its course.

The film, in this reading, becomes a metaphor for gestation: a surreal, dreamlike passage through bodily systems that sustain, process, and eventually prepare for rebirth.

This movie is what happens when everyone behind the camera get full freedom to make the best movie they can make.

Everything is wonderfully made, from small details in the background, light and sound and special effect department.

In the end, you have a mix of Terry Gilliam/Lovecraft and Kafka. The people asking for financial support to this movie deserve a payraise - they seem to have called and knocked on every door and institution in Europe, and i am glad they did.

I am happy they included the first 30 seconds of the movie, and the last 30 seconds as it confirmed my theory on what it allaccomplish were about. I might be wrong, but don´t think i am. There are other movies on the same theme - but i think this is the best one i have seen so far.

This movie makes me think of the value of work, partner and friendship i have in life, something few movies can brag about.

Naturally, Crispin Glover is perfect in this role. Someone that can play a really weak character, like he did in Back to the future, and also the bad guy like he did in American Gods - fits my description of a really good actor.

If someone ever doubt movies as an expression of meaningful art - show them this movie.

I was a bit scared after reading some negative reviews, but it wasn't founded. After seeing some really bad movies like 'Reflet dans un diamant noir' and 'the other way around' this was a breath of fresh air. I decided to give it a chance after reading that it won a prize at a fantasy film festival. That's a genre that always produces good movies, and those fans have a much better taste than your average media specialists! A good movie recently was 'Black Dog', from China! Wake up, USA, do they only make series to stream these days? At first the hotel guest is focused on finding the exit, but just like in reality, real life intervenes... The movie is about people who say and do anything that fits their beliefs or their own behavior... And not in a woke way.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with the acting, even the dog does well, and there are several intriguing characters. The ending may not be much, but the rest of the movie more than makes up for it. Very atmospheric, nice moments with music, also the choice to make the main character a magician gives the whole thing extra cachet. Recommended!

I first saw the trailer and was really looking forward to the film. The beginning was okay, the first few minutes. I thought it would be a great film. The setting, costumes, and camera work are all very good. But as time goes on, the film becomes increasingly silly and nonsensical. I was very disappointed after about an hour, but I kept watching. After about 80 minutes, I found the film so incredibly silly that I had to turn it off. Yes, I can only rate the 80 minutes or so, and I give it 5 out of 10. It's a shame; I had completely different expectations.