While looking over German films in production, I noticed that star auteur Christian Petzold, after a slew of films delving deep into German and European history, is currently following the fantastical siren call of the genre film with his new film UNDINE. As are many other intriguing filmmakers.Historian Undine (Paula Beer of TRANSIT) works as a tour guide in Berlin. When her boyfriend (Jacob Matschenz of THE WAVE) leaves her for another women, her deepest secret breaks through the surface of her normal, urban life: Under a spell, Undine has to kill the man who betrays her and return to the water she came from. But this Undine, unlike the fairy tale mermaid, refuses to give in to her fate. She does not want to kill, or leave. Then she meets Christoph (Franz Rogowski of TRANSIT) and falls in love. As an industrial diver, he introduces her to his underwater world — one she already knows. They spend happy times together, but he feels that she is running away from something. The film wrapped shooting in August, I hope to see it in the Berlinale competition. Perhaps it’ll be what THE SHAPE OF WATER was to TIFF. Btw, it is also starring actor-director Maryam Zaree, who was just in Toronto as a guest of the Goethe-Institut with her documentary BORN IN EVIN. If you can’t wait till late February to hopefully see in-demand multilingual star Paula Beer (FRANTZ), catch her in (European) cinemas right now in Abel Lanzac's action thriller THE WOLF'S CALL, a (literally dark) near-future submarine drama.
87-year-old and recently very active master Alexander Kluge Continue reading "Fly me to the moon (or mars or hades): The new..." »
