Die abhandene Welt

The jazz singer Sophie Kromberger (Katja Riemann) is fired from the bar where she works in Germany. She receives a phone call from her father Paul Kromberger (Matthias Habich), who tells her that he saw a picture of the diva Caterina Fabiani (Barbara Sukowa) in Internet and her resemblance with his deceased wife Evelyn is amazing. He tries to convince Sophie to go to New York to see Caterina at the Metropolitan, and when her boyfriend breaks with her, she decides to travel. Sophie goes to Caterina's dressing room, where she meets her agent Philip (Robert Seeliger) and they have dinner together. Caterina is an introspective woman, but Sophie learns that Caterina's mother Rosa (Karin Dor) is interned with dementia in a nursing home. Sophie leaves the diner party and visits Rosa and when she shows the picture of her mother, Olga says "Evelyn". Sophie becomes more curious about the mystery of Caterina and has one night stand with Philip to meet the opera singer alone. Little by little, families' secrets are disclosed.

"Die abhandene Welt", a.k.a. "The Misplaced World", is a nice family drama by Margarethe von Trotta. The plot has families' secrets, mystery and a good story, developed in a right pace for a drama. The last scene, with Caterina and Paul, is silly. The only but is Barbara Sukowa (1950) and Katja Riemann (1963) performing the role of sisters. Their difference of age is too big for the plot. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "O Mundo Fora do Lugar" ("The Misplaced World")

Family dramas can and mostly are exhausting. That doesn't mean they are not good. But that also doesn't mean they always have to be spectacular. Sometimes they just sort of flow along. The story is solid enough here, the acting lacks at crucial moments though. It's not that the movie loses its drive, but it seems to lose focus from time to time, which makes it harder to feel for the characters involved.

Having said that, overall it's a solid effort. A movie that could play as one of those TV movie (drama) of the week and fit right in. You will feel for and with the two female leads to a certain extent, maybe engage more with one of them, than the other. Whatever the case, this is not light entertainment, so be aware of that