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Veteran director Tom Tykwer sends a magical Syrian cleaner into a bohemian yet unhappy family, bringing with her a flashing-light treatment for depression

Here is a weirdly incoherent and very long aria of semi-comic dismay from white-liberal Europe, and from a Germany whose bold “Wir schaffen das” – or “We can handle this” – Angela Merkel-era attitude to refugees has turned to anxiety. Veteran German director Tom Tykwer has created a heavy-footed magical-realist romp lasting two hours and 40 minutes about a complicated extended family in Berlin whose painful lives are turned around by a magic refugee whose purpose is to salvage their happiness. The film twice uses Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody to provide a jukebox blast of energy – the second time at the very end, worryingly indicating that the classic track is being brought on to save the day because the film is out of ideas.

Lars Eidinger gives a muscular,...

A bloatedly operatic saga about a liberal Berlin family coming apart and together again with the arrival of a Syrian housekeeper (Tala Al-Deen), German director Tom Tykwer’s “The Light” almost rudely keeps its audience in their seats for a very long 160-plus minutes. A discordant symphony of ideas around white guilt wherein the filmmaking itself does much of its own virtue-signaling despite trying to critique that very gesture, this slog of a Berlin Film Festival opener feels destined to languish on the European film circuit, a quote-unquote epic that would’ve been better framed as a four-part miniseries than a single feature that lacks the compression and punch of Tykwer’s 1998 breakout “Run Lola Run.”

Here is a quasi-musical, pseudo-sci-fi set in the drabbest pockets of a rain-drenched Berlin, unless it’s flinging us to Nairobi where Melina (Nicolette Krebitz) does penance for her own white guilt through Ngo work,...

Beware novel psychological therapies from Austria: You never know where they may lead.

In the curious case of German director Tom Tykwer’s The Light, which opened the Berlin Film Festival, such a quacky therapy — mostly involving a flashing LED light and an egg-timer — is Syrian refugee Farrah’s comfort, an escape hatch from the horrors of her life and, ultimately, a tool to heal the multiple afflictions tearing apart the German family for whom she is keeping house. The parents are in failing couples therapy, the kids are disaffected, and Farrah appears from nowhere to sort them out. Sort of like Mary Poppins, but with extra lashings of fragrant Orientalism.

At first, a handful of characters are introduced, the connections between them drip-fed, Magnolia-style, over a long series of intercut scenes where we see them at work and play. Milena Engels (Nicolette Krebitz) is working in Kenya on an arts project funded from Germany,...

The 75th edition of the Berlin International Film Festival opens today and, following the rather unceremonious end of its previous two directors’ respective tenure, all eyes are on new Berlinale head Tricia Tuttle and whether she can help the wintry film fest level up vis-à-vis competitors in Cannes and Venice. While we have ten days to reach a verdict, the opening-night selection isn’t the surprise some might have hoped for. Screening out of competition, The Light is a wannabe urban fairytale that finds German filmmaker Tom Tykwer succumbing to his worst maximalist impulses. Bombastic and nearly charm-free, this misfire may have its heart in the right place but is so deeply inarticulate one can’t even be sure of such.

Its story revolves around a bourgeois family in Berlin: Tim (Lars Eidinger) is a successful advertising executive who no longer has the coolest ideas; Milena (Nicolette Krebitz) works on...

Tom Tykwer opens the Berlin Film Festival for a third time on Thursday with his dazzling snapshot of life in contemporary Berlin, taking stock of German society as the first quarter of the 21st century draws to a close.

It is his first feature-length film since 2016’s Saudi Arabia-set drama A Hologram for the King starring Tom Hanks.

Tykwer, who has spent the past decade immersed in the final years of Germany’s 1918-1933 Weimer Republic with hit series Babylon Berlin, has returned to the present with gusto.

He plunges his protagonists into a reality marked by digitization, globalization, climate change, job insecurity, global migration, conflict-driven displacement and rising political extremism, and watches them navigate this age of disruption.

Lars Eidinger and Nicolette Krebitz play chaotic, comfortably-off, late 40s couple Tim and Milena Engels, who are parents to 17-year-twins Frieda (Elke Biesendorfer) and John (Julius Gause), and 8-year-old Dio (Elyas Eldridge...

Ahead of the Berlinale 2025 taking place February 13-23, they’ve unveiled their lineups for Berlinale Special, Panorama, Generation and Forum sections. Highlights include confirmation of Bong Joon Ho’s Mickey 17 alongside Ira Sachs’ Peter Hujar’s Day, Ancestral Visions of the Future from This Is Not a Burial, It’s a Resurrection director Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese, a documentary on the making of Shoah, a new Jacob Elordi-led series from Justin Kurzel, and more.

See the lineup below via Deadline and check back for the competition lineup next week.

Berlinale Special

Ancestral Visions of the Future

by Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese | with Siphiwe Nzima, Sobo Bernard, Zaman Mathejane, Mochesane Edwin Kotsoane, Rehauhetsoe Ernest Kotsoane

France / Lesotho / Germany / Saudi Arabia 2025

Berlinale Special | World premiere | Documentary form

A poetic allegory of the filmmaker Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese’s childhood, an ode to cinema and an inner nod to his mother. Through fragmented narratives and mythic imagery,...

Aussie filmmaker Justin Kurzel’s series adaptation of Richard Flanagan’s Booker Prize-winning novel The Narrow Road to the Deep North, starring Jacob Elordi, will screen at this year’s Berlin Film Festival.

The Narrow Road to the Deep North was among several titles added to Berlin’s lineup this morning.

The festival describes the series as a “riveting new Australian drama” about a WWII hero haunted by his past. The show will screen as a Berlinale Special Gala. Also in Specials strand is The Thing with Feathers starring Benedict Cumberbatch. The pic screens at Berlin following a debut bow at Sundance and is from filmmaker Dylan Southern. The pic is an adaption of Max Porter’s novel about a grieving father wrestling with the sudden death of his wife while also raising their young children. As previously reported, Bong Joon Ho’s Mickey 17 will also screen. Scroll down...

"We are the reason why the world is on the brink of disaster..." The truth right there. Whoa! X Verleih has revealed the full German trailer for the film titled The Light, also known as Das Licht in German. It's the latest feature film from acclaimed German filmmaker Tom Tykwer, his first feature since A Hologram for the King in 2016, because he's also been working on the "Babylon Berlin" series for the last 8 years. The film has a March 2025 release date in Germany and will premiere at the upcoming 2025 Berlin Film Festival in February as the big Opening Night film. A family faces collapse as they deal with modern issues, searching for new beginnings in a troubled world. Their life is disrupted by the arrival of a mysterious Syrian woman, who "puts the Engels' emotional world to an unexpectedly wild test." Filming took place in Berlin and North Rhine-Westphalia and Kenya.

A “typically dysfunctional German family” gets a spiritual makeover in Das Licht (The Light), the new film from Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run, Cloud Atlas), which will open the 2025 Berlin International Film Festival.

The first (German) trailer for the film dropped Thursday, via local distributor X Verleih and Warner Bros. Germany (see below). It shows Lars Eidinger and Nicolette Krebitz as Tim and Milena, the unhappy heads of the Engels family. In the words of their daughter Frieda, played by Elke Biesendorfer: “We’re typically dysfunctional German family, where everyone does their own thing and does give a sh** about one another.”

The Engels get help in the form of a mysterious woman, Farrah (Tala Al Deen), a housekeeper from Syria, who enters their lives, bringing to light feelings that have long been hidden. But Farrah is pursuing a plan all of her own that will fundamentally change the family’s life.

The world premiere of “Das Licht (The Light),” the latest feature film from Tom Tykwer, will open the 75th Berlin International Film Festival on February 13, 2025. The German-French production will be presented as a Berlinale Special Gala out of competition in the Berlinale Palast.

“We knew as soon as we saw ‘Das Licht (The Light)’ that we wanted to have it open the 75th Berlinale,” the festival’s director Tricia Tuttle said in making the announcement. “Tom Tykwer finds beauty and joy in our often fractured and challenging world, and magically captures the essence of our modern life on screen. It is our great pleasure to welcome Tom back to the Berlinale with ‘Das Licht (The Light).'”

Tykwer has already opened the Berlinale — twice, as a matter of fact. In 2022 it was his first international production, “Heaven,” that had the honor. The director and screenwriter most recently opened the festival...

Tom Tykwer is returning to the Berlinale.

The acclaimed German director of Run Lola Run, Cloud Atlas and Drei will open the 75th Berlin International Film Festival with his new feature, Das Licht (The Light).

Tykwer’s first feature since 2016’s A Hologram for a King is a family drama set in modern-day Germany featuring Lars Eidinger, Nicolette Krebitz and Tala al Deen. It tells the story of the Engels family, parents Tim (Eidinger) and Milena (Krebitz), their twins Frieda (Elke Biesendorfer) and Jon (Julius Gause) and Milena’s son Dio (Elyas Eldridge). The family has been growing apart for years before housekeeper Farrah (Al-Deen), a mysterious woman from Syria, enters their lives, bringing to light feelings that have long been hidden. Farrah is pursuing a plan all of her own that will fundamentally change the family’s life.

“We knew as soon as we saw Das Licht (The Light...

The Light Photo: Courtesy of Berlinale The world premiere of Tom Tykwer’s latest feature film The Light (Das Licht) will open the 75th Berlin International Film Festival on February 13 as an out-of-competition title.

Tim, Milena (Nicolette Krebitz), their twins Frieda (Elke Biesendorfer) and Jon (Julius Gause) and Milena's son Dio (Elyas Eldridge) are a family that lives more side by side than together and nothing holds them together until the housekeeper Farrah (Tala Al-Deen) enters their lives. The mysterious woman from Syria puts the Engels’ world to an unexpected test and brings to light feelings that have long been hidden.

Incoming festival director Tricia Tuttle said: "We knew as soon as we saw The Light that we wanted to have it open the 75th Berlinale. Tom Tykwer finds beauty and joy in our often fractured and challenging world, and magically captures the essence of our modern life on screen.

German filmmaker Tom Tykwer will open the Berlin Film Festival with his latest feature The Light (Das Licht).

The screening will take place on February 13. It will be a world premiere and the film will screen out of competition in the Berlinale Palast.

Starring in the pic are German actors Lars Eidinger (Dying) and Nicolette Krebitz (A Cloud in Our House).

The film tells the story of the Engels family. Tim (Lars Eidinger), Milena (Nicolette Krebitz), their twins Frieda (Elke Biesendorfer) and Jon (Julius Gause) and Milena’s son Dio (Elyas Eldridge) are a family that lives more side by side than together and nothing holds them together until the housekeeper Farrah (Tala Al-Deen) enters their lives. The mysterious woman from Syria puts the Engels’ world to an unexpected test and brings to light feelings that have long been hidden. In the process, she pursues a plan all of her...

Tom Tykwer’s “The Light” will open the 75th Berlin International Film Festival. The German-French production, Das Licht (“The Light”) will be presented as a Berlinale Special Gala out of competition in the Berlinale Palast.

The film marks Tykwer’s return to the big screen after seven years and four seasons as writer and director of the hit series “Babylon Berlin.”

“We knew as soon as we saw ‘Das Licht’ (‘The Light’) that we wanted to have it open the 75th Berlinale,” said festival director Tricia Tuttle. “Tom Tykwer finds beauty and joy in our often fractured and challenging world, and magically captures the essence of our modern life on screen. It is our great pleasure to welcome Tom back to the Berlinale with ‘Das Licht’ (‘The Light’),” she continued.

“The Light” stars Lars Eidinger, Nicolette Krebitz, Elke Biesendorfer, Julius Gause and Elyas Eldridge.

Set in present day in Berlin,...

Look who's back! X Verleih debuted a quick 30-second teaser for a new film called The Light, also known as Das Licht in German. It's the latest feature film from acclaimed German filmmaker Tom Tykwer, his first feature since A Hologram for the King in 2016, because he's also been working on the "Babylon Berlin" series for the last 8 years. The film has a March 2025 release date in Germany, but no festival premieres yet - it's expected to show up at Sundance and/or Berlinale early next year. A family faces collapse as they deal with modern issues, searching for new beginnings in a troubled world. Their life is disrupted by the arrival of a mysterious Syrian woman, who "puts the Engels' emotional world to an unexpectedly wild test." I'm guessing the modern issues it's dealing with are about how xenophobic many Germans still are and how they don't really know how to accept immigrants.

International independent production company and financier Gold Rush Pictures has signed a deal with Germany’s X Filme Creative Pool to participate in financing and co-produce the next three projects written and directed and/or produced by Tom Tykwer, including features and TV series.

The partnership follows Gold Rush Pictures recent investment in Tykwer’s German contemporary drama “The Light,” the filmmaker’s return to the big screen after seven years and four seasons as writer and director of the hit series “Babylon Berlin.” It is the writer-director’s first feature film since his 2016 adaptation of “A Hologram for the King,” starring Tom Hanks.

Currently in production, “The Light” (“Das Licht”) centres on a troubled family who take on a mysterious woman as a housekeeper. When she successfully shakes up the lives of the family, she then confronts them with the dark fate of her own. The film stars Lars Eidinger,...

Following up her Best Picture-nominated Past Lives, Celine Song has officially unveiled her next feature. Starring Dakota Johnson, Chris Evans, and Pedro Pascal, The Materialists is a romantic comedy that follows “a professional matchmaker who gets involved with a wealthy man but still harbors feelings for the broke actor-waiter she left behind,” Deadline reports. Once again backed by A24, producers Christine Vachon and Pam Koffler of Killer Films, and 2Am’s David Hinojosa, the project is aiming to start shooting this spring, so expect a 2025 release.

Also on the 2025 release calendar is likely Kogonada’s third feature following Columbus and After Yang. Reteaming with Colin Farrell with Margot Robbie also starring, A Big Bold Beautiful Journey is said to be an “imaginative tale of two strangers and the unbelievable journey that connects them,” Deadline reports. With production beginning this spring in California, it’ll be Robbie’s second project after Barbie,...

Beta Cinema will start selling The Light, Tom Tykwer’s return to the big screen after seven years, at the upcoming European Film Market and has released a first look image of the film.

Beta Cinema is handling sales for all territories except German-speaking territories, France and North America.

Set in present day in Berlin, The Light is billed as a portrait of a modern family between collapse and new beginnings.

It stars Lars Eidinger, who will next been seen be in Matthias Glasner’s Berlinale competiton entry Dying, actress/director Nicolette Krebitz from Aieou and Wild, alongside Elke Biesendorfer,...

Tom Tykwer’s return to the big screen is getting closer. After seven years working in television, co-creating and co-directing, with Henk Handlogten and Achim von Borries, four seasons of acclaimed period drama Babylon Berlin, the German director of Run Lola Run, The International and Cloud Atlas will mark his movie comeback with the contemporary German-language drama The Light (Das Licht).

Tykwer’s production house X Filme Creative Pool, German distributor X Verleih and Beta Cinema, which have picked up international sales rights for the film, on Thursday unveiled the first look of The Light. The still, which almost resembles a Renaissance painting, features star Tala al Deen bathed in a radiant glow from a device on the table in front of her.

Al Deen plays Farrah, a mysterious Syrian woman who enters the lives of the Engels, a middle-class German family whose world is slowly unraveling. Nothing appears to...

Tom Tykwer is coming back to the movies.

The German director of Run Lola Run and Cloud Atlas has announced his return to filmmaking with the German drama Das Licht (The Light).

The feature, which has just wrapped principal photography, is described as a portrait of a family “between collapse and new beginnings” and deals with the major issues of our time “in a world that is reeling.”

Das Licht is Tykwer’s first feature film since 2016’s A Hologram for the King, starring Tom Hanks. He has spent the past seven years on TV, co-creating and co-directing, with Henk Handloegten and Achim von Borries, four seasons of the acclaimed and award-winning German historic series Babylon Berlin.

Das Licht stars Babylon Berlin alum Lars Eidinger and actor-director Nicolette Krebitz (Wild, My Zoe) as Tim and Milena Engels, a couple whose family, including nearly grown twins Frieda (Elke Biesendorfer) and Jon...