Jerichow

This is really a movie which didn't need to be made. I watched it because I greatly admire Benno Fuhrmann's work in North Face and in Joyeux Noel (a wonderful film, BTW).

Enough folks here have done the comparisons with Double Indemnity, etc. etc. The acting and cinematography and realism of this film are all perfectly adequate. However, there isn't much character development, and therefore, not nearly enough to make me care about the 3 main characters. In fact, the one we get to know best is actually the Turkish husband, and I had more sympathy for him in a way that for the two protagonists, largely because we don't really know them. The movie isn't full of a bunch of intriguing plot twists, and the action is relatively slow-moving. The aspect of this film which most interested us was the setting in a part of Germany which none of us have seen. My husband is German, and the part we know is the extreme southwest, nothing northeast. We were also interested to see contemporary Germany actually being depicted. But, I'm sorry, this just isn't enough to justify the amount of time.

Producers and directors need to be reminded that people today have a host of other entertainment options available to them and any movie they make should be MORE interesting than say, watching a ballgame on TV, surfing the internet, playing video games, sex with spouse, camping in the woods, going out to dinner with friends, watching YouTube, etc. etc. In other words, having an interesting, entrancing story is, at least in my mind, a good half the value of a film. Unfortunately, so many movies today just don't seem to be aware of the demand for a decent story, and I don't get that. I read a lot of thriller novels, excellently written, all of which would make fantastic films, and furthermore, I know from the authors themselves that they have sold the rights to make a movie from the books. So, I ask myself, why aren't THESE stories becoming movies, instead of a lot of the ho-hum stuff that does become film?

This isn't about the movie, it's about the comment above that asserts that Jerichow is an area in east Germany that faces the North Atlantic.

East Germany has a coast line on the Baltic sea.

The rest of Germany has borders with Poland, West Germany and the Czech Republic

Before you get to the north Atlantic you have to go through the north sea, and maybe the English channel (if you go that way).

So Jerichow is no where near the North Atlantic.

The rest of that comment should, therefore, be ignored in it's entirety.

Jerichow is a region in a part of East Germany that faces the Baltic Sea--it used to be in the GDR. A dishonorably discharged Afghanistan veteran Thomas returns to his home village of Jerichow. There after witnessing a wreck with a guy who was drinking he meets Ali who hires him as a driver. Ali (Hilmi Sozer), a middle aged Turkish immigrant who owns of a snack-bar chain in Eastern German . Then Thomas meets Laura, his Turkish boss's young & attractive wife (Nina Hoss who is very beautiful). Thomas ( Benno Furmann) was in the Army during the war in Afghanistan he is at his mother's funeral & he has confrontation with business man he owes large sum of money to. So between them begins a classic love triangle. Petzold writes & directs a fine, tight film about 3 characters, each with a dark side to their character. It is a well directed & acted drama about a love & lust for the 3. The Ali character is the rich macho acting *ss*ole--he is not a happy man. The wife is the submissive beauty. Thomas is the quiet stoic strong army guy needing money & job. There is a resemblance to both versions of 'The Postman Always Rings Twice', also similar to the films by the late Reiner Werner Fassbinder Robert Bresson, & others.(as mentioned by others) This is an austere film making from director Petzold whose works are not well known in this country. The cinematography is really terrific & beautiful set in the desolate northeast Germany, where thick forests suddenly end on cliffs overlooking the Baltic Sea . The film also captures a social portrait of newly multicultural Germany, at least as it extends into the country's forgotten rural interior. The film does a good job giving us people in the dead ends they face & in the spiritual emptiness that causes people to do desperate things in search of happiness. In the end Ali ends up earning some of our sympathy is a testament to both Petzold's smart script & Sozer's deeply nuanced performance, a trait shared by his two co-actors.

Thomas, a returned war veteran, returns to his native village of Jerichow, in eastern Germany. Looking for a job, he agrees to be the driver for Ali, who owns a chain of snack bars in the area, and that's where he meets Laura, Ali's attractive wife.

Another film by Petzold, starring Nina Hoss (no news here), Benno Fürmann and Hilmi Sözer.

Jerichow is a free adaptation of the classic novel 'The Postman Always Rings Twice', by James M. Cain, where we have the story of a love triangle and all the consequences that lies, betrayal and forbidden love can have in the lives of the persons envolved.

It's different from the previous adaptations, even though it follows a similar pace, differentiating itself by giving, on almost equal parts, screen time among the three characters, making the narrative more humble, without focusing to much on character a or b.

It's also a criticism of German society, on the matter of multiculturalism and xenophobia.

The cinematography is ok, with the right choice of locations for the different moments of the film.

Christian Petzold directed Nina Hoss in one of my favorite films, Phoenix, so I looked forward to seeing "Jerichow" from 2008.

This is a loose remake of The Postman Always Rings Twice with a touch of Fassbender's Ali: Fear Eats the Soul. Petzold creates a noir atmosphere in his story of a dishonorably discharged Afghanistan veteran Thomas (Benno Furmann) who returns to Germany in order to rebuild and live in his father's home. Unfortunately, his brother steals the money he had hidden and knocks him unconscious.

Thomas eventually becomes the driver for Ali (Hilmi Sozer), a Turkish-German businessman who owns a chain of snack bars. Thomas then meets and falls in love with Ali's beautiful young wife Laura (Nina Hoss). The two fall in love, with Ali, a generous employer and abusive alcoholic, standing between them.

Lovely beach locations in an around Brandenberg, Germany is a highlight of this film. There are some beautiful scenes -- Laura going to see Thomas in the rain; Thomas coming up behind her while hiding from the suspicious Ali; Ali's drunken dancing on the beach. These all contribute to a beautifully-made film.

There have been comments that this is a political allegory, and it can definitely be seen as that too. On the surface, it's a love triangle with a twist. Petzold is an excellent director whose work deserves to be seen.