Alle Anderen

Maren Ade has set a German "Kammerspiel" in sunny Sardinia; a Dogma-looking, Eric Rohmer-inspired account of a young couple on vacation in a big, beautiful house - and their reluctant, but increasingly blatant attempts at penetrating each other's bodies and souls. She loves him. Does he love her?

"Alle Anderen" is not pitch-perfect (and has been received with varied reactions - from a posh Jury Grand Prix in Berlin '09 to fairly feeble reviews). Indeed, it's a bit too long for its own good and strangely uneven at times. But at one point, you just surrender to the subtle narrative and the complex, fully fleshed out characters (needless to say, Birgit Minichmayr and Lars Eidinger are phenomenal in the leads. Their performances look so simple, so easy-to-pull-off).

Maren Ade has accomplished the difficult stunt of putting the audience in the very same room, at the same intense wave-length, as these searching, anxious people. She allows us to eavesdrop to cunning conversations, to witness a constant (if not always visible) emotional struggle. And she keeps a shrewd surprise for the very end, suddenly pulling the rug from under our feet, forcing us to re-evaluate everything we've seen and heard up until this point.

The sound of silence can be damaging. Tears and laughter can be emancipating. Because in the end, it's all about love.

'EVERYONE ELSE': Two Stars (Out of Five)

One of the most critically praised movies of the year which goes to show critic's approval doesn't always mean anything. The film tells the story of an unhappily married couple on a Mediterranean vacation. There's really not much else to it. It's a German film, with English subtitles, and it's written and directed by Maren Ade. It stars Birgit Minichmayr and Lars Eidinger as the couple.

Minichmayr plays Gitti and Eidinger plays Chris and as the movie opens they appear to be a happily married couple. As the movie progresses we get to slowly know the couple and how they relate to each other. We gradually see the cracks in their relationship as they grow bigger and bigger. In the end do we really care enough about these characters to really care if things work out between the two? I say no.

The movie is well acted and for what it attempts to do I think it's well made to a certain extent. I just don't admire what it attempts to do very much. It wants us to see what an average couple goes through in good times and bad and see what drives them apart and what keeps them together. I think they portrayed a believable average couple realistically, it's just not the type of couple I'd care to spend much time with. That's what the movie is like, spending a lot of time with an annoying bickering couple. For me that's hard to watch and pointless. I can go hang out with some of my friends if I want to see that. Other than living the painful realities of a painful relationship the movie has nothing else of any value to offer. There's nothing learned here and certainly nothing witnessed of any entertainment value. The movie just doesn't work.

Watch our review show 'MOVIE TALK' at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-m3RUjISnYI

great actors, smart dialogs and a very precise observations of a young professional society in Germany. one of the best German films in a long time made by a director who knows how to direct great actors. people who like theatre will love this movie. when i went to this movie i expected a German version of a french movie from directors like francois ozon. i also expected it to be a typical movie made from a woman for women. still i expected a lot because the actors count to the best ones of German theatre. the movie did not turn out the way i expected it. the questions it raises about creative achievers who want to stay independent, free and young are shameless and razor sharp. every scene is observed very precisely without seeming to be constructed. gitty (birgit minichmayr) might not be as strong as many might hope but she never looses the main focus of this movie: authenticity

A very realistic tale about two people living on different frequencies and the shame and misunderstanding about and with the people you intend to be the nearest with. Told in front of a beautiful setting by breathtakingly great but unagitated and subtle actors. One of the must-see German films.

A young German couple is on a business/vacation trip in Sardinia. They don't much like each other. They pretty much argue and snipe at each other constantly. They probably, in fact, should just get a divorce. Oh, wait: they're not married. So why the Hell are they even together? These two people just need to move the Hell on. The film really does understand its characters quite intimately, and the lead actors (Birgit Minichmayr and Lars Eidinger) are good, but so what? These people are just not worth caring about or observing in any way whatsoever. The movie moves very slowly and is basically the equivalent of hanging out with horrible people for a very, very long two hours. Terrible.