Marseille

Art does not arise just because the Artist thinks, what he does is Art...

A movie with nothing to say, where nothing happens. A nearly interesting melancholic atmosphere torn apart in in a whole nothing, which feels like the finger exercise of an arrogant film-student. Consequently shot in the total disregard of the audience. There is really nothing more to say about this technically well filmed waste of time. A very sad waste of an excellent cast, too.

But, hey. Sure it was some variety for Ms. Eggert to play in Marseille instead at the Jungfernstieg...

She better takes some real Holiday next time...

This is a very difficult film to describe, because the description of the goings-on on the screen won't get you very far. The director denies you any conventional narrative that would give you access to the characters' motivation. They themselves don't know what drives them, what do they want or what will hit them; that's the key.

It reminded me of Antonioni more than any other film I have seen. Just like Antonioni, it seemed initially boring, but then I noticed that time was running faster than I had felt. Just like Antonioni, the cinematography is meticulously composed, with characters often sharing spotlight with objects or panoramas. Towards the end Sophie is overwhelmed with profound sadness whose source she cannot fully pinpoint, as in L'Avventura, and eventually she completely vanishes from view, just like in L'Eclisse.

Apologies for describing the film as "just like the Great Master XY", I can't stand this kind of lazy reviewing myself, but somehow the film was like an object that is too close for me to see in its entirety. It has all the hallmarks of an art-house bore - lack of plot, lack of glamorous characters, alienation, etc., but I wasn't bored. It forced me to stop and watch, and conclude that this film probably has more to say about our world than any number of films full of profound "statements".

Of course that doesn't mean that many people won't be bored, just like with Antonioni.

This is a beautifully filmed portrait of different people in Berlin and a young woman in Marseille. More little scenes than a story. Very atmospheric and melancholy. The best film from Angela Schanelec so far.

In the first half we follow Sophie a German woman in Marseille on her ways through the city. While the second half is set in Berlin with scenes out of the life of an actress and a photographer. Every dialog is very well written and has a subtle sense of humor, which was often missing in the earlier films of Schanelec. But still there a long scenes and repetition even if the overall atmosphere is amazing.

Maren Eggert as Sophie gives a wonderful performance. New German wave cinema at its best.