Die Theorie von Allem

It's not that often that a German-language film makes it into competition at the Venice Film Festival. The German director Timm KRÖGER, who was born in Itzehoe in 1985, succeeded in this this year. His film THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING is a shocker, illustrated in black and white cinemascope, that is extremely unusual and has a long-lasting impact in its intensity.

In a framework we see a seemingly typical talk show appearance from 1974: The author Johannes Leinert (Jan BÜLOW) presents his debut novel THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING. Apparently this is his own story, which is said to have happened twelve years earlier. Johannes of the year 1962 is on the way to a physics conference in the Swiss Alps with his doctoral supervisor (Hanns ZISCHLER). Once there, everything was delayed because the well-known physicist from Tehran was not yet allowed to leave. The scientists spend their time in the snow more often than not. Johannes meets a mysterious pianist (Olivia ROSS) who knows a surprising amount about him and his youth. When one of the professors (Gottfried BREITFUSS) is found dead and horribly mutilated, events take on increasingly mysterious features...

In beautiful images, Timm KRÖGER unfolds a stylish homage to film history and at the same time delivers an impressive puzzle with the passage of time in the 20th century. How all of this is connected is left to the interpretation of the individual viewer. The form and image design are based on German-language film history at the beginning of the 1960s, without neglecting international influences. In addition to cinematic role models such as HITCHCOCK and RESNAIS, one should also think of literary role models from KAFKA to Thomas MANN (DER ZAUBERBERG / THE MAGIC MOUNTAIN) to Friedrich DÜRRENMATT (DIE PHYSIKER / THE PHYSICS). But genre film influences from the Edgar Wallace films that were so popular at the time can also be seen. How well director KRÖGER knows film history is also shown in the treat that Johannes' novel is being filmed under the title LA TEORIA DEL TUTTO by the Roman Cinecitta, which was Hollywood's biggest challenger in those days. It is also wonderful that the exceptional German director Dominik GRAF (DIE KATZE / DIE SIEGER / FABIAN: GOING TO THE DOGS) was able to be won over as the narrator.

This film is extremely enjoyable, but may be too scattered and aimless for some moviegoers. But Timm KRÖGER has definitely achieved a great success, which once again shows us today's filmgoers the almost inexplicable fragmentation of world events in the 20th century. A film like this really comes at the right time!

A spontaneous decision to squeeze in one more film at Film Fest Gent made for one of my most enjoyable discoveries of the festival. After watching this B&W German film noir hommage, at a film festival, on a Tuesday afternoon, I jokingly said to my girlfriend (who I had been dragging along from film to film for three days) that she had now officially become a cinephile. Surprisingly however, I seem to be part of a rather small minority that absolutely loved this film, be it amongst those cinephiles or more casual movie go-ers.

In my opinion, Die Theorie von Allem wonderfully combines influences from many different genres to become something entirely new and exciting in its own right. The film most obviously borrows elements from film noir for most of its runtime (both in terms of plot and aesthetics), before giving way to a more surreal, almost Lynchian atmosphere in its final act. There was just so much to like for me in this film, from the many noir references to the gripping sequence where the protagonist literally goes through the rabbit hole, but the one thing that stood out to me was the absolutely gorgeous B&W cinematography. Filming this in black and white was an obvious stylistic choice to fit the typical noir material, but it also turned out to be surprisingly well suited to the decor of the film. The B&W shots of the stunning Alpine landscapes offer an original, mysterious and equally ravishing perspective on the imposing beauty of those high Swiss mountains. From the first shot of the film (after a short prologue in color), with a completely black background and more and more small flakes of snow slowly falling down the screen, I was completely hooked.

In short: Die Theorie von Allem starts off as a pitch perfect film noir hommage set in the Swiss Alps, gradually mixes in some classic Hitchcock thriller elements, before ultimately slipping out of our reach like an elusive Tarkovsky dream. By the end it's more Meshes of the Afternoon or The Mirror than The Third Man or Vertigo (it's certainly no coincidence that the film is preceded by a quote from avant-garde legend Maya Deren about myths, fact and fiction). Given that I love all of these influences, I guess I was the perfect target audience for this film, which did effectively make for an immensely satisfying experience watching it on the big screen at Film Fest Gent. The odds are pretty big that I'll be rewatching this on some dark and cold winter evening to soak in its dreamlike atmosphere and take in its beautiful imagery once more.

Positive: Beautiful black and withe cinematography, mixing 50's -60's edition. Comparable to some Hollywood classics. The music also feeds the atmosphere with this noirish style.

Negative: The storytelling. From the first scene, the director gives away the ending. The viewer knows the conclusion, and not only because it's a well explored subject in recent times, but because the main character say it. There are also characters that are totally irrelevant to the story. The director decides to smash the relationship between the 2 "main characters", to then explore the final days of the protagonist, which is also irrelevant, because we know it from the beginning.

A good idea, poorly written/directed.

The Universal Theory: Quantum Mechanics, The Many Worlds theory; Travelers from Parallel Earths, a convention in the Swiss Alps in 1962, all combine to create a fascinating Science Fiction Mystery Thriller. Some have complained that the plot is impenetrable and doesn't entirely hold together but I reckon if they pay closer attention they will realise that some apparent inconsistencies are due to characters flitting between different universes. Some changes are small, in others deaths are reversed. The presence of doppelgangers is important to the unfolding of the narrative as is a love story which transcends parallel universes. Filmed in sparkling monochrome this film could be a homage to many thrillers of the '50s and 60s with scenes lovingly lifted from them. Hitchcock meets Welles with a soupcon of Lynch and a dash of Kubrick. The mountain scenery and snow adds to the film's allure. Directed by Timm Kröger,from a screenplay by Kröger & Roderick Warich. 8/10.

It's actually a pity, the initial idea is quite appealing and the title and the advertising strategy have aroused great expectations. However, the film gets lost in a long series of quotes, stylistic devices and plot patterns, which were borrowed or copied from the works of famous directors. Thus, despite many mysteries and twists, the story becomes more and more predictable, and thus more disappointing. Unfortunately, the film completely lacks its own cinematic language, which would be necessary to remember the film as an independent work. As it is, however, it remains only as a thoroughly successful homage to Aldrich, Polanski, Lynch, Hitchcock, Truffaut, and, and, ... in memory.

The film is most convincing in its image composition, the black and white photography is beautiful, followed by the excellent actors. What the film would certainly have scored with is almost not used at all: quantum mechanics is only briefly mentioned, and the main character's groundbreaking theory is never explained, although it seems to be the key to the story. Instead, the emphasis is entirely on confusing the emotions, leaving many interesting possibilities for interpretation. The story never builds up to the great mystery that the title implies and becomes more and more annoying and shallow towards the end. What remains is a visually splendidly made film that is strangely conservative in the end.