Nebenan

Berlin - a city that still has its issues with its past. And while it states here that it is a comedy - I'd call that a bit of a far stretch. I'd call it a drama - with quite bit of comedic touches. Some may even feel this is a thriller. The way the trailer is cut certainly gives that impression (thankfully I only saw that after I had seen the movie).

Daniel Brühl can not only draw from his experience as an actor (the role he is offered may or may not be a wink at his Marvel role), but also his spanish roots - from one of his parents side that is. We knew that he is a great actor, but with this he seems to establish himself as a really good director as well. He certainly had a quite the tight script to work with - which always helps.

How good do we know our neighbors or anyone in close proximity to us? This has some bits of a spanish thriller I've seen, where misery played a big role. But it is not a remake of that, it has quite a few other elements in it. It is about fame, about relationships and more importantly about trust. Also it deals with the Stasi in a really clever way. Highly recommended, even if there may be times where it seems to come to a full stop .. a new revelation/twist will keep you on the edge of your seat ...

I can not imagine how much time and thinking needs to go into such a movie. There is not a lot happening, besides a couple people talking. And still, you feel the tension in every frame. Plus nothing feels forced or scripted. The pacing is just on point.

I am happy that his movie ended up being as good as it is. Hope he does more in the future.

While the main trailer for this film was quite impressive and promising, I must admit that the movie loses it's freshness due to the postmodern features.

And with that I principally mean the normalization of frighteningly strange story points. With that I mean the lack of an accurate representation on how someone normal would react to the things going on.

Daniel Brühl is brilliant, as he should be, but his character and the others do not react normally. This gives the movie an bizarre feeling. Because the sense of being appalled is not properly shown.

From a filmmaking point of view this film is solid, but it just fails because of postmodernism.

All I knew was that the movie would play in a corner bar in Berlin for most of the time. Therefore, I didn't expect much suspense but was proven wrong very quickly. It has amazingly written dialogues, superb acting by both lead actors and thus, doesn't get boring for even a split second.

I observed myself rooting for both lead characters in turns. Also, it gives you a lot to think about: Stasi, gentrification, envy, the value of money and fame.

The fact that Daniel Brühl plays a character seemingly close to himself (actor, german-spanish, two sons, superhero roles in the making) made it only better.

I love movies like this. Where there are very few locations (most of the time all the action set in one room) and two or three main characters. This is something in-between the movie and the theatre play, which makes it even more fascinating. No special effects, stunts, breath-taking shots and locations, everything fully relies on the dialogues and actor's performances. And this is why sometimes it is quite a hard task to make that kind of movie dynamic, grab viewer's attention at keep it till the very end.

However, the debutant Daniel Brühl did it immaculately. "Nebenan" is funny, intriguing, tense and sad. I can't say it is a comedy or thriller or drama, it is everything and anything of that at the same time. It is a movie about love, family, people, their mistakes and sorrows, their lies and secrets, it is also a movie about uneasy past of the country, of never ending conflict of interests and views, it's about social inequality, fame and wealth and poverty, it slightly touches almost every aspect of life, showing different prospects of view on the themes.

The main character of the movie Daniel, played by the one and only Daniel Brühl, is a very successful actor, who needs to go for an important audition for a super-cool-very-expensive-very-big-and-popular superhero movie (hmm, what that can be about?). Big money is at stake with the mind-blowing wave of popularity and recognisability and thousands of new fans. He is very nervous (obviously), so he decided to go and wait for his flight at not very luxurious (more accurately very not from high class) bar. There he meets another visitor of the bar (played by Peter Kurh), who is become to be not just a random stranger. Not to spoil anything let's just say he is a little bit rude and knows too much about Daniel. The whole movie is just a verbal confrontation between them with some unexpected twists. But it made in a way you will be wanting to be invented with the story it tells you

The acting is unconditionally good. Both actors did a great job, the main characters have chemistry between each other, which is vital, when you have nothing, but dialogues too keep audience interested. Speaking about directional part, I also have no claims. I really liked the cinematography of the movie. Even though there are only three or four different locations, the shots are very aesthetic, colourful and quite creative at times. The ending scene (the one that is at the bar) is my favourite, the music, camera movement, exposition creating very moving and memorable ending of a story.

So, if you are also a fan of this Chekhov-style small movies, you will definitely enjoy this one. The only reason I did not give 10/10 to it, is the fact that it is not something extraordinary, this movie is good, but it is very loyal to its genre and not trying to be revolutionary, which is not a bad thing. For Daniel Brühl it is a solid directional debut, confirming his versatility and talent in the field. And I am really looking forward to seeing his development as a director in the future.