Fabian oder Der Gang vor die Hunde

Despite the somewhat odd and in some places minimalist cinematography, this movie is a true gem. It captures the atmosphere, at some places reminds me of Babylon Berlin (not a coincidence given the theme of the film). Tom Schilling and Saskia Rosendahl both shine here. I was very happy to see them again as co-stars after Florian Henckel von Donnermarck's masterpiece, Never Look Away (Werk Ohne Author). German cinema is truly something to discover, with many great actors and great movies. Despite the relatively long running time this film after getting used to the cinematography, instantly draws you in. This is art, and not for the mainstream lovers that's for sure but if you are into this kind of movies, you don't want to miss out on this one.

With so much allied disinformation and anti-German propaganda from the war, it's refreshing to see Germans diving into their own history. Of course still manipulated by the powers that be, but perhaps soon they date opening the Laterna Magica in full.

It is a long movie (almost 3 hours) and it defiantly felt like it. The story in whole felt quite aimless. There was long parts of the movie where it felt like nothing particularly was going on.

However, I decide to watch the movie because it was taged as a romance and it actually delivered. The part when Tom Schilling and Saskia Rosendahl were falling in love was undeniably beautiful but only lasted for a very short moment, then a boring story continued. If you have watched Never Look Away then you will probably, during the falling love part, be very much reminded of the similarities. Personally, I think it was the highlight of the movie and to be compared to a masterpiece like Never Look Away is only positive. Though, the movie felt a little bit like a bad knockoff of Never Look Away.

The movie never made me care for the characters and thus I didn't really care what happened to them. At most I started to care about Fabian's friend Stephan but only slightly. And that was the problem with the movie it didn't evoke emotions even in the moments when you should care about the characters.

"Fabian: Going to the Dogs" is much more than it's ImDB classification as love story/romance. Nevertheless, on the surface, it could definitly be classified as a love story.

(The love story)

The movie is set in Weimar-era Germany and addresses common mid 1920s cultural trends, such as the dissolution of social norms in a very unstable society. As a result, love is more about purpose than relationship. Here begins the unspectacular love story - yet, in my opinion, very well told.

("We look outside and saw enough")

Fabian is not good at making decisions or taking responsibility for his own preferences. For example, he is a good writer but he doesn't make any attempt to write a book or doing something similar. He is more like an observer of his own life. His friend is basically the opposite. He is active in political movements, writes a lot, and - as a result - he always gets into trouble.

("and nobody knows how far we'll go")

The movie portrays the unstable society very well. As an observer, Fabian is quite aimless and the whole society is caught in mounting tension. Although the main storyline sets in the Weimar Republic, the movie includes multiple scenes set during the Nazi regime or even today (not explicitly highlighted - the movie is worth watching twice!). These scenes contribute to the overall feeling of a sinking society. There are also numerous references to authors with specific political opinions, for example Lessing, who represents the enlightenment.

(about to learn swimming)

Besides love, the movie has a bunch of other central themes, for example water. Fabian cannot swim and although this is a problem for him, he doesn't do anything. At one point in the movie, there are even posters reading "Learn to swim!".

To sum up, definitely don't expect a love story, otherwise, it will be very boring! To understand everything it's definitely worth watching the movie twice and reading a bit about the Weimar Republic, the movie has a crazy amount of historical-insider-moments. It tells the story of a society in decline, especially the love storyline is comparable to cultural drives during Weimar (... Cornelia's story, for example, is comparable to the novel "The Artificial Silk Girl", which was also written during Weimar Republic), but it's only one part of the story/movie. This film has definitely managed to turn story and plot into a medium to show more.

The movie does feel like it is not from this world. The way it begins, the way our main character "acts" ... it all feels so detached from reality. Of course that is intended and of course this playing almost one hundred years ago plays a major role too. Acting wise this is quite something - everyone involved is giving it their best.

You may still feel at least a little bit detached from whatever you are watching. This is not an easy movie to watch - add to that the exhausting running time, the relationships, the different goals and some seemingly aimless "goals" this seems to hunt down ... you'd be excused for being on the fence about it. It is art though and in art everything is possible. Also you may like it's narration style more than others - pacing "issues" for some may be the greatest way to tell the story for others ... if you have a lot of spare time and like it like that, give it a shot. It surely is not a bad movie.