Stereo

The intertwined pasts of the two men lead us to a mystical, desperate attempt of catharsis. The cop dad is the the exact opposite reflection of the protagonist..cringey.. weak..but loyal. Like in Bertolucci's "Sheltering skies" the old man has visions that are both accurate and surreal. Blooming excellent end.

I found this film very boring, uninteresting, unrealistic during the first hour, or a little less. The characterization totally tepid, lousy at the most. Suddenly after this first hour, things change in the most radical way, before finishing in the best brutal fight sequences and a little more interest for the characters. You can try it.

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.

Edgar Poe ,"William Wilson" .

At first ,this thriller shows a Roman Polanski influence : the hero's peaceful life , in a common milieu,suddenly subject to the intrusion of maleficent hostile world,and sinister-looking characters looming in everyday life : ever since the first meeting with his girlfriend's father , one feels something bizarre in his attitude towards his (future?) son-in-law ;which the second one (the handshake) does nothing to dispel .In the meantime, a sinister -looking figure appears ,some kind of double, a persecutor, or his conscience,because ,slowly but inexorably, one feels that the hero has skeletons in his closet ,that fueled by the girlfriend's dad 's investigations (he's a cop).

The man who follows him everywhere and which nobody but the unfortunate hero can see may seem sometimes intrusive at times ,but it inspires the excellent scene with the little girl :children often invent an imaginary friend ,and for her ,it's only natural that her mom's friend has one too.

Not only the hero thinks he's losing his marbles ,which the people who are supposed to help him do nothing to rectify : on the contrary ,the thespian in the hospital sends him to a most peculiar therapist ,as though they were all part of a huge conspiracy

Of course ,there are elements taken from former movies ("Jacob's ladder" ,"fight club".... ),and the last twenty minutes are a bit disappointing , for gore and violence which were kept to a minimum level so far ,come to the fore ,a la Tarentino .

In spite of these reservations, "stereo " is a good thriller,well acted by both principals , off the beaten track ; and the "explanation" makes sense , despite (or thanks to) the intrusion of the fantasy and horror in the trite world of a motorcycle mechanic.

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.