Stereo

Pretty good movie, but it still misses something to be really remarkable.

The story is OK, going for a pure psychological thriller to something closer to an action movie towards the end. Not too predictable, but there aren't mind-blowing plot twists either. Things are gradually revealed and that's about it.

I enjoyed watching it, but I doubt I'll remember this movie in a few months as I watch other stuff.

I had the chance to see the German movie Stereo early during a Sneak Preview. The impression with which I left the cinema was largely positive mainly due to the strong performances of Jürgen Vogel and Moritz Bleibtreu as well as some nice shots and camera work.

The story starts with Erik, played by Jürgen Vogel, receiving a ticket for speeding on the way to his girlfriend Julia. Together with her daughter they lead a quiet life in the countryside. The plot starts to unfold when one day Erik's work as a motorcycle mechanic is disturbed by the arrival of gypsies and the appearance of a mysterious hooded man, who is played by Moritz Bleibtreu.

From here on the story convinces with some nice turning points and surprises, although some of them can be easily anticipated as the plot progresses. The most interesting part for me was the development of the relation between Erik and the character played by Bleibtreu, which worked really well. With the focus on these characters I could not help myself but feel disinterested in the fates of Erik's girlfriend and her family (not to mention the gypsies).

One of my main gripes with the movie is therefore the slow and boring family scenes. Some of which contain slow motion shots combined with a soundtrack that I did not find fitting. Still the music convinces in many other parts of the film and underlines many great shots, notably during the outdoor scenes.

In my opinion, another flaw of the movie is its overdone profanity. While I enjoyed the comedic remarks by Bleibtreu's character a lot of the misogynistic comments and portrayals found in the film seem overdone. I think the movie could achieve the same result, i.e. depicting the bad guys as really evil men, with a more subtle tone, especially since we have Julia's family as a stark contrast. Furthermore, I found the performance of Erik's adversary Keitel with his strong Austrian accent convincing enough to also justify a more unobtrusive dialogue and imagery without watering down the characters too much.

All in all, Stereo is an entertaining and gripping thriller. It manages to compensate for its slow parts with good performances by its two lead actors and the development of the relatable characters they play. The plot will keep you interested to see what's next despite rather predictable twists and revelations. You should not be easily offended by strong language and explicit images though.

Likeable middle aged rogue tries to go it straight in a small rural town when he starts to find himself almost literally haunted by his own dark past. Somehow the film manages to thread a confusing path balancing the fantastic and the mundane to reach it's bloody, bullet ridden climax. For me, this film did a much better job of bringing together it's various "out there" plot points than most similar efforts on the market. But then again, it does manage to both have good ideas but also not bludgeon the audience over the head with them.

Stereo: Eric (Jurgen Vogel) is living in rural Bavaria, he runs a garage, is easy going, has a girlfriend. But her policeman father is suspicious of him. To be honest Eric is suspicious of himself, he's a bit dubious about his past, what really happened in his Berlin days. To add to his confusion a character called Henry starts to stalk him, Henry knows more about Eric's past than Eric does. The trouble is only Eric can see Henry. A therapist/medium with the aid of a wheelchair bound Aleister Crowley lookalike tries to help. Then a Roma man appears who seems to know Eric and attempts to involve him in a criminal scheme. A black comedy, gangster flick and revenge thriller which is quite edgy and violent. Vogel is good at portraying Eric as the confused everyman who just wants a quiet life and a family. But like Job the troubles of the world are showered upon him. Good acting all round as the film moves from fields to seedy nightclubs and a grand guignol finale. Directed and written by Maximilian Erlenwein. 8/10.

I anticipated this being more of a horror movie than the thriller it was, but that wasn't an unwelcome surprise. Stereo does a great job of establishing the main character in his initial setting, and I enjoyed seeing how he handled the turmoil of seeing the mystery man. It's around that part of the movie where I got a little bored waiting for the big reveal...

I really enjoyed this movie overall, and there were moments that bummed me out and made me angry. That being said, the story-telling is a bit disjointed and choppy, the pacing was a bit too slow, and nothing about the plot stood out as "new" to me. I would still casually recommend this, but it's not a must-see.