Jerichow (2009)

Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

good back-story, and good acting

Best movie ever!

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

"Jerichow" is a German movie from 2008, so this one will have its 10th anniversary next year. It was written and directed by Christian Petzold and this movie of slightly under half an hour (without credits) is another statement why Petzold is among Europe's finest now and has been there for quite a while. His films are never really that long but they have great focus and that's much more important than the runtime, perfect this way as nobody needs another half hour or so of dragging scenes and empty moments. The three core players here are Benno Fürmann, Nina Hoss and Hilmi Sözer. Fürmann has worked with Petzold on many occasions and I personally must say I don't think he is a really great actor. This film does not change anything really. His character is relatively lackluster to be honest and I felt that he required little range to work nicely, which works in Fürmann's favor. And so it is all good with the decision to cast Fürmann. Hoss is another actor that Petzold has worked with on quite a few occasions, his leading lady and her character certainly requires a bit more than the previous. But Hoss, even if she has a tendency to give extremely similar performances, is also good enough to make her work. As for Sözer, honestly so far I only knew he'd be in loud movies that Germans would call klamauk at times, so I was certainly a bit surprised to see him in a Petzold movie giving a pretty strong dramatic performance. Definitely the positive surprise here as he may very well be the film's MVP.This is the story of two men forming a friendship after one of them becomes an employee of the other. When the boss' beautiful wife comes into play, things turn sour quickly in their relationship however. It becomes clear relatively quickly that not all of the trio will survive it somehow, even with the reference towards one character falling of a cliff early on. The big question, however, would be which one(s) would turn out to get sacrificed at the end. This is also one of the most interesting aspects and Petzold comes up with a good finale for sure. I personally would call myself a fan of the filmmaker. This one here is probably not my most favorite film of him, but I still enjoyed thanks to the inclusions of interesting plot points like betrayal, violence and conspiracy. A really dark film actually, one of Petzold'Äs darkest perhaps. I think the fact why he is so good right now is that he usually does not include many characters in the center of his films and that he does without pointless supporting characters that add absolutely nothing because they are underwritten or don't get the screen time they need in order to work out. All the minor characters in here, even if they have only one scene, add something to the movie, not because we remember them, but because we remember what their scenes told us about the protagonists, like the scene with the Asian clerk and the reactions of both Sözer and Fürmann are pretty interesting to watch. The consequence is that the central characters are elaborated on even more and honestly, this is what every quality film needs. One of the better German movie from the 21st century for sure. I recommend checking it out because it feels so authentic and atmospheric at the same time and I had the impression I was watching real characters from start to finish. Watch it.

This is a veritable remake of The Postman Always Rings Twice but it has new and interesting things to say. The noticeable nods to The Merchant of Four Seasons (Fassbinder) are handled cleverly too. There are only 3 characters of any importance and the actors are very good. Director Petzold expertly creates and maintains tension where we kind of know what will happen but we also kind of don't. This tension is crucial to the film. We've seen this story before. But we haven't. These characters and their situation are similar. But different. The character Ali was brought to Germany at age 2 but he might be the first 'non-religious' Muslim I've seen in a European film. So, just 3 main characters but they are more complicated than they seem at first. I am writing in 2015. Director Petzold is not young. I will definitely 'catch up' w/ his films.

German screenwriter and director Christian Petzold's fifth feature film which he wrote, is loosely based on the novel "The Postman Always Rings Twice" from 1934 by American author and journalist James M. Cain (1892-1977) and was screened at the 33rd Toronto International Film Festival in 2008, In competition at the 65th Venice Film Festival in 2008 and in the German Cinema section at the 59th Berlin International Film Festival in 2009. It was shot on various locations in North-eastern Germany and was produced by producers Bettina Reitz, Andreas Schreitmüller, Jochen Kölsch, Florian Koerner Von Gustorf and Michael Weber. It tells the story about Thomas, a dishonourably discharged former soldier who has returned to his home in a German village called Jerichow. Thomas has begun renovating his home and is having difficulties finding a job, but after a coincidental encounter with a Turkish businessman named Ali he is offered a job as a driver. Thomas and Ali becomes friends and he is introduced to Ali's wife Laura, but as the relation between Thomas, Ali and Laura evolves, Thomas and Laura falls in love and begins to make plans for themselves.Distinctly and finely directed by German filmmaker Christian Petzold, this eloquent love triangle draws an intriguing portrayal of a dangerous liaison between a wealthy businessman's wife and a lonely former soldier. While notable for it's naturalistic milieu depictions and the compelling cinematography by German cinematographer Hans Fromm, this somewhat romantic, at times humorous and character-driven thriller which examines themes like friendship, love, betrayal, crime and capitalism, contains a good score by composer Stefan Will.This poignantly atmospheric and finely paced fictional tale where a random meeting instigates a string of strange events, is impelled and reinforced by it's two merging studies of character, cogent narrative structure and the understated and involving acting performances by German actor Benno Fürmann, German actress Nina Hoss and Turkish-German actor Hilmi Sözer. A suspenseful and existentialistic love-story which gained the German Film Critics Award for Best Film Christian Petzold at the German Film Critics Association Awards in 2009.

Jerichow is a region in a part of East Germany,that faces the North Atlantic. It is also the title of a grim,but well written,directed & acted drama about a love (lust?)triangle. Thomas (a stoic faced Benno Furmann)is one of life's losers,who was in the Army during the war in Afghanistan,who is on the run from being in debt with a business associate. Ali (Hilmi Sozer),a middle aged Turkish immigrant,who owns a chain of snack bars in central Eastern Germany & his beautiful,young wife (Nina Hoss,most easy on the eyes). Despite a somewhat strained friend ship between the three,paranoia & mistrust exist between two of the three parties (especially when Thomas & the wife start an affair). Christian Petzold writes & directs a fine,tart film about three characters,each with a dark side to their character. Besides a passing resemblance to both versions of 'The Postman Always Rings Twice', it may also remind you of films by the late Reiner Werner Fassbinder,Robert Bresson,and others. This is grim,but well intentioned film making from a director who's works are fairly unknown in this country (and let's hope that changes soon). As this is an import,distributed by a small independent studio,it is not rated by the MPAA,but contains pervasive language,sexual situations,nudity & violence (although nothing too gory).