Next Door

I can not imagine how much time and thinking needs to go into such a movie. There is not a lot happening, besides a couple people talking. And still, you feel the tension in every frame. Plus nothing feels forced or scripted. The pacing is just on point.

I am happy that his movie ended up being as good as it is. Hope he does more in the future.

This was wonderful. Gradually growing tension, garnished with comic touches, and played to perfection by the two male leads.

A smooth and successful young actor is to fly from his Berlin home to Britain to audition for a superhero movie. His only frustration at that point is getting hold of the script. His taxi to the airport arrives too soon, so he sends it off and thinks to fill in time with a drink at the local bar. There he encounters another inhabitant of his block of flats. He treats their discussion with tactful reserve, as a fleeting encounter with an unimportant man. But the conversation proves quite sticky. His frustrations grow, tension deepens.

Almost the entire film takes place in the bar, giving it the feel of a stage play. And almost all the dialogue is between the two men, though there are important scenes involving his wife and the woman who owns the bar.

The backdrop is gentrification, with the two protagonists representing a clash between the old and the new. Looming over all is the shadow of the past: the Stalinist regime in Eastern Germany.

I would be happy to watch this again.

I love movies like this. Where there are very few locations (most of the time all the action set in one room) and two or three main characters. This is something in-between the movie and the theatre play, which makes it even more fascinating. No special effects, stunts, breath-taking shots and locations, everything fully relies on the dialogues and actor's performances. And this is why sometimes it is quite a hard task to make that kind of movie dynamic, grab viewer's attention at keep it till the very end.

However, the debutant Daniel Brühl did it immaculately. "Nebenan" is funny, intriguing, tense and sad. I can't say it is a comedy or thriller or drama, it is everything and anything of that at the same time. It is a movie about love, family, people, their mistakes and sorrows, their lies and secrets, it is also a movie about uneasy past of the country, of never ending conflict of interests and views, it's about social inequality, fame and wealth and poverty, it slightly touches almost every aspect of life, showing different prospects of view on the themes.

The main character of the movie Daniel, played by the one and only Daniel Brühl, is a very successful actor, who needs to go for an important audition for a super-cool-very-expensive-very-big-and-popular superhero movie (hmm, what that can be about?). Big money is at stake with the mind-blowing wave of popularity and recognisability and thousands of new fans. He is very nervous (obviously), so he decided to go and wait for his flight at not very luxurious (more accurately very not from high class) bar. There he meets another visitor of the bar (played by Peter Kurh), who is become to be not just a random stranger. Not to spoil anything let's just say he is a little bit rude and knows too much about Daniel. The whole movie is just a verbal confrontation between them with some unexpected twists. But it made in a way you will be wanting to be invented with the story it tells you

The acting is unconditionally good. Both actors did a great job, the main characters have chemistry between each other, which is vital, when you have nothing, but dialogues too keep audience interested. Speaking about directional part, I also have no claims. I really liked the cinematography of the movie. Even though there are only three or four different locations, the shots are very aesthetic, colourful and quite creative at times. The ending scene (the one that is at the bar) is my favourite, the music, camera movement, exposition creating very moving and memorable ending of a story.

So, if you are also a fan of this Chekhov-style small movies, you will definitely enjoy this one. The only reason I did not give 10/10 to it, is the fact that it is not something extraordinary, this movie is good, but it is very loyal to its genre and not trying to be revolutionary, which is not a bad thing. For Daniel Brühl it is a solid directional debut, confirming his versatility and talent in the field. And I am really looking forward to seeing his development as a director in the future.

Berlin - a city that still has its issues with its past. And while it states here that it is a comedy - I'd call that a bit of a far stretch. I'd call it a drama - with quite bit of comedic touches. Some may even feel this is a thriller. The way the trailer is cut certainly gives that impression (thankfully I only saw that after I had seen the movie).

Daniel Brühl can not only draw from his experience as an actor (the role he is offered may or may not be a wink at his Marvel role), but also his spanish roots - from one of his parents side that is. We knew that he is a great actor, but with this he seems to establish himself as a really good director as well. He certainly had a quite the tight script to work with - which always helps.

How good do we know our neighbors or anyone in close proximity to us? This has some bits of a spanish thriller I've seen, where misery played a big role. But it is not a remake of that, it has quite a few other elements in it. It is about fame, about relationships and more importantly about trust. Also it deals with the Stasi in a really clever way. Highly recommended, even if there may be times where it seems to come to a full stop .. a new revelation/twist will keep you on the edge of your seat ...

This is pretty miserable, even for a dramedy, but I generally liked what it was going for, even if the execution left a bit to be desired. I kept thinking of Banshees of Inisherin at times, but maybe only because of all the drinking and because Daniel Bruhl's co-star looked a little like Brendan Gleeson.

I wonder if Bruhl had a bad experience with someone who didn't like his acting at a bar, and then made this film to imagine that interaction being pushed as far as possible. If Misery is about a creative person encountering their number #1 fan, but that fan is crazy, then Next Door is about encountering one's number #1 hater, but that hater is a bit less crazy. Also, they don't want to do physical harm, but seem willing to go to great lengths to inflict psychological torment.

The stress caused is almost funny, but it's mostly just bitter and downbeat. It's a nihilistic watch, so some of that lack of satisfaction is intended, but still, I wish it had just had something more to offer by the time it started wrapping up.

If you're after a bottle movie, this works decently enough, though. It is solidly acted and directed, and proves mostly engaging for its brief runtime. It's not quite a great film, but Next Door is solid enough. I don't regret watching it, and it's always nice to find the time to check out something offbeat and far from widely discussed.