Abendland

A hypnotic little film that is very precious and may be a rewarding treasure for those who can stay on board. If you can enjoy slow poetic film such as those of Tarkovsky or Ozu , give this film a chance. Fred Kelemen is surely a promising one to watch. In the age of fast-cutting Hollywood & Hong Kong films, here is one of a few alternative. It certainly won't make much money anywhere and that is how our contemporary world is. Keep on doing good work for our poor souls Fred Kelemen. After Rotterdam film festival 2000 , where I saw it , nobody in the States bought it for distribution yet-which means it might be a classic film for real.

Abendland, was one of the best movies of the I saw in 2000. It's a fabulous journey through pain, sorrow and fear of a wrecked couple over a night. Filmed in a beautiful way, with beautiful disturbing plans, music, sounds, and colors that match perfectly the despair of the characters. In movies like this, "boring" is not an available word.

Director Keleman tells the story of a couple that's on the verge of breaking up. A man is unemployed, bored with life, impassive, and doesn't want to admit to his girlfriend he loves her. They separate for one night. The film follows their nocturnal encounters with other people on the fringes of society. Abendland tries to depict a couple that suffers from a fin de siecle crisis in a world that looks even more gruesome than the former Eastern bloc ever did.

Shot in a Andrei Tarkovsky manner, this film is as repellent as their main characters. It bores its audience with hand-held video close-ups and songs from a washed-up female nightclub singer.