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I am a fan of independent quirky comedy (Night on Earth and Down by Law, for example, or in a more similar vein to Toni Erdmann, von Trier's The Boss of It All).

I went into Toni Erdmann expecting something like that.

What I got instead was a film that was less than the sum of its parts, with awkward, stilted pacing (possibly intentionally), and really variations of one slapstick joke being repeated over and over again.

It's not that it's not funny, there are quite a few good laughs there, and it's not that the main character's attempts to reconnect with his daughter are not charming. It's just that those good elements are diluted in many scenes where one or both of the main characters were surrounded by a bunch of other actors just feeling awkward and not knowing what to do with the main characters (repetitive and increasingly unfunny) shenanigans. It just felt like bad film-craft, with really poor chemistry between the actors most of the time.

Another thing is (I will spare you the details) the completely gratuitous scenes with sexual content and nudity, which just seemed out of place within the rest of the film, and were there (in my view) just to make the film seem more edgy and challenging. Nothing wrong with edgy and challenging, and nothing wrong with nudity in principle, it's just that these scenes did not work with the rest of the film at all and were far too long, and far too detailed, and one of them did not contribute to the plot at all.

In the end, the director's self-indulgence and the lack of chemistry between the two main actors and the rest of the cast just makes it feel like an excuse to put the main character in increasingly unlikely and increasingly awkward situations, that he responds to by playing cheesy gags. You end up losing interest in the characters, and feeling the film is far too long (well, at least that was my subjective experience).

As someone who grew up (mostly) in the Middle East, I understood the language, knew the actors, and knew the director. I went to see this with a friend (with no connection to the ME) fully expecting an at least decent film with reasonable acting. The premise was promising, but was completely wasted by the collective ineptitude of everyone involved.

Firstly, everything looked artificial. The actors had loads of make up (even the men), the prison cell didn't look real, the dialogue was wooden and unconvincing, the scenes in Paris were completely pointless and also very fake and unnatural. This is all very strange, given that I know these people can act, I've seen them do it before! Perhaps Hatem Ali got lost, trying to imitate French Art-house? So, long and not-so-meaningful pauses, no dialogue, and badly translated scenes acted by a crazy playwright in his prison cell? Oh, and of course, the obligatory relationship drama bolted on top.

Also, there seemed to be attempt to use fewer actors? Everyone was someone's partner, but also someone's brother/ daughter / son. Which made the little plot that was there really confusing.

Anyway, none of the film made sense, it was boring, and the relationship between the characters weren't explored, there was no humour, and no characters one could engage with or feel for. It just falls flat in every way possible.

So in summary, kitschy villas, a lot of make up, and boredom, that's what I remember from it. What a waste of talent, time and story.

I watched this film by complete chance, not knowing anything about it (just needed to choose a film to see with a friend). It's not a roller coaster sort of film, but it has many charms. Really beautifully filmed, and has some absolute gems of dead-pan humor.In fact, I liked it so much, that I broke my oath not to buy any more DVDs, and got me into other early Jarmusch films.

Granted, the beginning is very slow and the plot is quite unusual - and that may put off some. That said, the very slow open scenes have some amazing shots, and some really good music.

Begnini does a great job with the language jokes, and Tom Waits and John Lurie also bring their characters to life.

All in all, a really good film. Definitely worth watching.