I definitely enjoyed this film, and found it pleasantly unpredictable throughout. That really has become a huge criterion for me, if you are the same, you might save reading this and other reviews until after you've seen the film. Thus...
SPOILERS of sorts...
While the film launches with hyperkinetic momentum, a la "Lola," by about halfway through the pace of the action, and even the camera itself stops to freeze. Tykwer's early tracking of the camera by hand to weave in on various actors helps to inject tension to this film, even when the scenes themselves may be no more tense than a typical soap opera. Then for awhile, the camera becomes stationary, and we wait as the earlier motions and emotions play themselves out, and finally we get an, explosive exhillirating ending.
I see the tag line for this film refers to it as a "Liebesthriller" and when I watched the trailer for the film *after* seeing it properly, in English they referred to it as a "Romantic Thriller" That is a fine encapsulation of it...and not really a genre that I place too many films under its rubric.
While this film ride well upon surprises, it also uses one more familiar and frequently deployed device these days. there seems to be more movies where multiple characters are brought together with only say one degree of separation, but their connections are unbeknownst to them. I admit it, I enjoy this cheap omniscient thrill...and it works well here.
Here certain secrets are known to us and the "criminals" who have committed various acts (all men, sigh...), they often seek out retribution for the very crime they are responsible for. We have the philanderer as jealous boyfriend, and the father whose own mistake led to the loss of his daughter seeking vengeance. Then there's a peculiar character who rather than being hypocritical, suffers from a peculiar form of short-term memory loss.
This latter character, rather than charging blindly over the cliffs of ration, seems to be struggling with recalling his acts, and reclaiming his responsibility. There is a haunting scene on New Year's eve where you can see the fireworks in his fragile, shrapnel-shattered mind, reflected on his very forehead.
And the film is beautiful in other aspects...the two female leads carry their theme colors with them wherever they go. Their connection as caring roommates helps to hinge much of this film, and feels right for that sort of relationship. And both are crucial in helping transform the villain in this film, past anti-hero into a hero as he rescues both. He plucks the ultra-cynical "green" girl from the clutches of her despair, while he consoles the "red" girl in the wake of a death in her family, and in the wake of her absent boyfriend.
So whether we buy into this "conservation of guilt" and karmic come-uppance is one trick to this film. Even while watching it I felt a bit manipulated towards Rene, and in hindsight now moreso.
The photography is flashy throughout. The ski-diving at the end, shots of the anti-hero though a diamond lattice work at his hovel, the camera in the lair of the lovers starts early on tight and intimate, but eventually gets as much distance as it can, spying on them from a corner in the ceiling. Wide-angle to catch them as they drift apart. That bathroom fireworks shot is really a tremendous one as well, and any of winter wonderland shots were great. Especially the skating ones...
On one level this could be the "soap opera" of the future, romantic rollercoasting along with nice dabs of mystery and of course duplicitous if not just plain dumb men. We are missing the catty female, and honestly the film is far more savvy than that. I suspect reducing down the novel for this film was probably a challenge, but well worth it. I wonder if the title has any idiomatic sense in German, like the notion that when winter thaws out, we can see what has happened. I think we see all of the characters actually asleep at one point (or comatose even) and they all lurch awake. I know the film starts with the idea that they are all running away, or leaving, with a sense of urgency.
The film questions whether you can run away from your actions, and to me it covered a lot more movie mileage than "Rennt, Lola, Rennt." Indeed the two female here live rent-free and the men, well they run into trouble...but not necessarily their own.
7/10
SPOILERS of sorts...
While the film launches with hyperkinetic momentum, a la "Lola," by about halfway through the pace of the action, and even the camera itself stops to freeze. Tykwer's early tracking of the camera by hand to weave in on various actors helps to inject tension to this film, even when the scenes themselves may be no more tense than a typical soap opera. Then for awhile, the camera becomes stationary, and we wait as the earlier motions and emotions play themselves out, and finally we get an, explosive exhillirating ending.
I see the tag line for this film refers to it as a "Liebesthriller" and when I watched the trailer for the film *after* seeing it properly, in English they referred to it as a "Romantic Thriller" That is a fine encapsulation of it...and not really a genre that I place too many films under its rubric.
While this film ride well upon surprises, it also uses one more familiar and frequently deployed device these days. there seems to be more movies where multiple characters are brought together with only say one degree of separation, but their connections are unbeknownst to them. I admit it, I enjoy this cheap omniscient thrill...and it works well here.
Here certain secrets are known to us and the "criminals" who have committed various acts (all men, sigh...), they often seek out retribution for the very crime they are responsible for. We have the philanderer as jealous boyfriend, and the father whose own mistake led to the loss of his daughter seeking vengeance. Then there's a peculiar character who rather than being hypocritical, suffers from a peculiar form of short-term memory loss.
This latter character, rather than charging blindly over the cliffs of ration, seems to be struggling with recalling his acts, and reclaiming his responsibility. There is a haunting scene on New Year's eve where you can see the fireworks in his fragile, shrapnel-shattered mind, reflected on his very forehead.
And the film is beautiful in other aspects...the two female leads carry their theme colors with them wherever they go. Their connection as caring roommates helps to hinge much of this film, and feels right for that sort of relationship. And both are crucial in helping transform the villain in this film, past anti-hero into a hero as he rescues both. He plucks the ultra-cynical "green" girl from the clutches of her despair, while he consoles the "red" girl in the wake of a death in her family, and in the wake of her absent boyfriend.
So whether we buy into this "conservation of guilt" and karmic come-uppance is one trick to this film. Even while watching it I felt a bit manipulated towards Rene, and in hindsight now moreso.
The photography is flashy throughout. The ski-diving at the end, shots of the anti-hero though a diamond lattice work at his hovel, the camera in the lair of the lovers starts early on tight and intimate, but eventually gets as much distance as it can, spying on them from a corner in the ceiling. Wide-angle to catch them as they drift apart. That bathroom fireworks shot is really a tremendous one as well, and any of winter wonderland shots were great. Especially the skating ones...
On one level this could be the "soap opera" of the future, romantic rollercoasting along with nice dabs of mystery and of course duplicitous if not just plain dumb men. We are missing the catty female, and honestly the film is far more savvy than that. I suspect reducing down the novel for this film was probably a challenge, but well worth it. I wonder if the title has any idiomatic sense in German, like the notion that when winter thaws out, we can see what has happened. I think we see all of the characters actually asleep at one point (or comatose even) and they all lurch awake. I know the film starts with the idea that they are all running away, or leaving, with a sense of urgency.
The film questions whether you can run away from your actions, and to me it covered a lot more movie mileage than "Rennt, Lola, Rennt." Indeed the two female here live rent-free and the men, well they run into trouble...but not necessarily their own.
7/10