Fellwechselzeit

If you need help in falling asleep tonight, just put this ponderous and meaningless drama on at bedtime and it will surely be the cure.

A home movie might have more of a plot than this atrocity from Gemany. No wonder they lost the war. Stephanie appears to be about ten when we first meet her and her nutty mother lounges around in a mess of a hoarder's paradise. In one scene which seems endless, her father peels potatoes while the young girl struggles with a math problem. She later opens a trunk which contain a meat cleaver and a pig killing gun of sorts. Mom's dad was a butcher and explains this to her offspring.

We are abruptly taken to the Addam's family and their strange world ten years later. They sing Silent Night around a sickly looking Christmas tree and the ending makes no sense whatsoever.

Avoid this garbage at all costs.

The film is infinitely boring, meaningless, and despite having a similar illness in the family, I can't even sympathize with any of the characters. It's one of the worst movies of my life I've seen. The only reason I gave 2 because of the atmosphere and the scenery, these were ok.

This is, in my humble opinion, an underrated masterpiece. As slow as it is, this deep insight into a dysfunctional family through detailed observation of everyday life is both gripping and disturbing.

I appreciate that it may not be for everyone, but I for one was deeply moved (I won't say I enjoyed it, because it caused emotional pain).

Set in early 70s Germany and following the life of Stephanie in a series of seemingly unrelated images, it paints a grim picture of small town life, with each of the parents not quite 'right' and obviously unable to live a coherent life as a family, the child retreating into fantasies loosely based on her hoarder mother's memorabilia and her stories of her own past.

This movie has moved me in so many ways. This is exactly why we go to festivals and see the movies that we usually aren't able to. Unfortunately. It's a shame that they don't get the recognition they should get. But there is hope.

Freya Kreutzkam is someone that we need to see more often. All the time actually. She brings something to the screen that you just don't see everyday. But should. The whole ensemble is working together in a way that sends chills down my spine. Hopefully there will be more to watch of this fabulous filmmaker in the future. A movie that you will talk about with your peers even weeks after watching it. 10 stars.