Ferien

Normally I love foreign-language movies and German ones especially, since I learned German while working for several years as a guest worker there. But with Ferien I really chose a dud! Now, the movie started well. Nice camera work; beautiful scenery. Just the way I like it, rather than the noisy excess we typically get from Hollywood. But it all went downhill from there. The characters were all boring. The plot... er, what plot? Why couldn't something have happened? Some event? Anything to make watching the movie worthwhile.

So, reluctantly, I started to fast-forward, just to see whether there might be a twist around the corner. After about a third of the way into the movie I decided enough was enough. I gave up watching it. Doesn't matter how good, how well-respected the actors are or have been, without any shape to speak of, a movie is simply a juxtaposition of frames. Good luck if you get something out of it. I didn't.

As usual, all the other actors' best efforts are dwarfed by Karoline Eichhorn's stunning performance. Like Katrin, Eichhorn's character in her last big-screen outing ("A Map of the Heart"), Laura is a troubled thirty-something with pain and regret gnawing at her self-esteem. But where Katrin went wild with a random under-age felon, Laura takes it out on the ones she loves. A few hours into the summer vacation at her parents' ramshackle countryside place, she passes out insults and hard times to her husband and her sister in equal measure, with extra acid reserved for her mom. In many ways, the setting of a troubled family in rural seclusion resembles Stefan Krohmer's 2006 drama "Sommer 04". But this one is set in the Del Amitri world, where nothing ever happens. The big plot bang that shook the family's foundations in "Sommer 04" never bursts in "Ferien". Instead, a series of small, unfortunate incidents eats away at everyone's happiness. Until the needle returns to the start of the song.

Fantastic build up to the dramatic moment. Practically all generations having with each other or cross generational. Very few directors or writers tempt a four generation confluctuous juxtaposition, but everyone having a family recognize a thing or two. A few takes could've benefitted from more development. Some awkward moments are so well acted it leads to a moment of fremd-schämen.

Excellent casting, of German finest, in very believable, weird, real people. The secluded well spotted location adds to the sometimes claustrophobic atmosphere.

Sometimes just a joke is very much more than that.