Ich bin die Andere

I just saw this at the Toronto International Film Festival. "I am the Other Woman" was a haunting film that will definitely keep you interested. The film is well laid out with lots of subtle hints and hidden meanings. True, it is slightly twisted, but the several unexpected twists will definitely keep you interested and literally make you jump out of your seat. The lead actress convincingly portrays the vulnerability of her this most disturbed character, while maintaining a sense of fleeting seduction. The movie is rounded out by several enigmatic characters whose sordid pasts are slowly revealed without being forced.

I haven't seen such an awful film for years!! It was shown in a small cinema in Germany where usually art and author films are shown. The description was very promising and it was hard to get the tickets. The film was such a disappointment! I thought about leaving the cinema in the middle(as my friend did), but decided to watch to the end in the vain hope to see smth worthy.

The plot is so predictable that it's painful. The film has pretensions to be art.. but there is no art at all.. Even of this meaningless plot (I support the reviewer who called it "Freud for beginners") one could have made a good art film. But this film director didn't.

Do not get deceived by the good advertisement, the film does not worth seeing.

Ah, it had to happen soon or later - my first dud at Melbourne International Film Festival. I could have walked out of this film at any time after five minutes or so, but with nice visuals it was tolerable. A man is engaged to marry but falls for another woman, who has a personality disorder. It starts off with all the psychology of a Hitchcock thriller but ends up being way too contrived. I was able to anticipate all the surprises.

While the film's visuals were excellent and had a reasonable cast, there were serious problems:

* none of the characters had any chemistry and it was impossible to suspend disbelief

* characters were caricatured

* the screenplay was very weak, like a run-of-the-mill Hollywood movie

* all the 'surprises' were predictable well in advance due to obvious setups

* an ending that was truly bad, bad, bad (and also predictable)

There were lots of smaller complaints, like gratuitous sex that did nothing to drive the narrative, or the film's length overstaying it's welcome (it had the "but wait, there's more" syndrome), and probably others that I've forgotten already. My opinion on this one was pretty much agreed upon by the others I sat with, all serious film-goers.

The story is not bad but the film as such is sometimes to unrealistic. Many of the actors though are great, in particular August Diehl, Armin Müller-Stahl and the fabulous Karin Dor who is finally making a comeback! Katja Riemann did not convince me at all, she is just beautiful but not a great actress. In any case, I was surprised that this film with many German film stars did not perform well.

I would recommend to watch this movie since the story is interesting and the film is never boring. If you are a fan of Karin Dor and/or Armin Mueller-Stahl, you have to see this movie in any case. And most people who have watched von Trotta movies before are very familiar with her personal style.

Let's not demand that Frau Von Trotta maintain the earnestness of her best known output. I enjoy a bit of skin and outrageousness as much as anyone. For a while there I thought this was going to be a good night at the movies. Katja Reimann flings herself into her multiple characters with considerable energy and occasionally minimal clothing (even if that looks like a butt double.) It's fun to watch that. The 'scope production values are handsome too.

Unfortunately this one is not only preposterous but it's dramatically feeble. The leading man is totally overshadowed by Reimann - not hard - and we fail to work up interest in his soppy character. Even more surprising is the failure to register of the celebrity support cast. Armin Mueller-Stahl should be expected to act the competition off the screen but handles his crippled crazy without flamboyance. What is Barbara Auer doing propping up this twaddle. At least Karin Dor gets some attention.

This one is a let down after the recent batch of imposing German films.