Aloys

One death. a phone call. and a knock on the door of a dark room/ leads to an amazing journey in love/ loneliness and imagination/ but you can never be sure what is real and what is not real. However sad and beautiful the story is/ this is one of those rare films that turns itself into a living dream. But If your into spoon fed narratives/ then please chose another movie. If you can let go. . .then you wont be the same again. I let go. . and enjoyed one the best films I have seen in many years/

"Phone Walking", a proposed theoretical technique devised by neurologists, is the ability for two callers to concentrate on background frequencies of a conversation to visualise a shared location within their imagination. The rustling of plastic bags. Leaves blowing in the blustery winds. Underground trains speeding through subway stations. A method utilised to help disintegrate isolation from those particularly vulnerable to unsocial behaviour. For example, a private investigator whom is overburdened by melancholia due to the recent death of his father. The titular protagonist is often cold, reserved and distant from the hustle and bustle of society, plainly embracing ignorance to those who attempt to converse with him. Overridden with depression, he drinks himself unconscious, waking up to a vacuous bus smothered in bleak condensation. His possessions stolen, his robust phone begins to ring to which he is greeted by a soft female voice on the other end. Attempting to postulate whom the female entity is, he investigates several clues that lead him to the path of "Phone Walking", which inevitably changes his outlook on life itself.

Nölle's Swiss-German drama Aloys is a conceptual experimentation in exploring social behavioural traits through pseudo-science, not explicitly seen since Gondry's 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind'. Whilst not nearly as romantic as the aforementioned feature, Nölle opts to focus his story on isolation. That intense confinement of loneliness that drives mental well-being into inexplicable actions, including suicide. From the offset, the sparse dialogue and distant camera shots perfectly imitate Aloys unaffectionate persona to the world. Staring at his father's coffin as it rampantly catapults into a crematorium furnace. The frustration exposed on Friedrich's face whenever an outsider asks a question. A relatable, yet problematic personality that creates a barrier of connectivity with the main character. That is until the anonymous female voice enters the fray and commenced the unique "Phone Walking" exercise, which profoundly transforms a melancholic portrait into a plethora of psychological divulgence.

Nölle audaciously alters Aloys to become a sensual experience, once this neurological method springs into action. Enabling viewers to listen out for background ambience, taste the descriptions of specific food types as these two troubled individuals imagine a party, and sensitively touch specific objects depicted through vocabulary alone. The sharp editing cuts between reality and fantasy, often depicted as a barren woodland, allow audiences to share this imaginative process with both Aloys and his female counterpart. Slowly breaking down that isolated barrier once Aloys begins to comprehend this technique. The transparent alteration in Aloys' elation whenever his "virtualised" interpretation of said female joins his imaginary self, is exquisitely portrayed by Friedrich whom acutely balances fragile mentality with vulnerable fear. Whilst Nölle's direction infers a romantic partnership, the surface-level characterisation instead implies a friendship of understanding and reinforcement, which coincidentally suits these personalities more.

Various narrative bumps do seem to be discarded swiftly, including the reasoning behind the unknown female stealing his possessions in the first place and the continuation of his current investigation. However the biggest issue is the heavy-handed metaphorical equivalence for their confinement, particularly when discussing a seal believing it is still in the Atlantic, but actually imprisoned in a zoo. Whilst perfectly acceptable analogies, their inclusion negates the subtle storytelling that Nölle had effortlessly incorporated throughout. Almost a forced last attempt at conveying the mentality of these characters, yet wholly unnecessary.

Regardless, the sheer conceptualisation of virtualisation through descriptive telephone conversations to chip away at unapproachable personalities is worth the watch in itself. To accompany that refreshing technique with solitary characterisation, despite the yearning for deeper exploration, makes Aloys a desirable phone call indeed.

Seen at the IMAGINE film festival 2017 in Amsterdam. Despite technically nothing wrong with this movie, I fail to find anything remarkable in it, no logical dramatic development, and no plot whatsoever. I assume that the film makers were so obsessed with the basic concept of mixing fantasy and reality, that they forgot to add a comprehensible and edible story. The "help" given to Aloys for breaking out of his loneliness, went past me and I cannot imagine it offering any escape nor a solid path to achieve that goal.

All in all a pity, as the first half hour is mysteriously promising. After that, the jumps between reality, fantasy and the mix between what could be true and what seems fantasy, make you soon lose interest, particularly as it has no clear effect on the psychology of main characters and their future life. I don't think Aloys will improve his quality of living, and the life and motivation of the woman is unclear to such a degree that I cannot tell what her future looks like either.

A Swiss psychological drama; A story about a loner and private investigator whose surveillance equipment is stolen by someone who offers him the chance to break out from his self-isolation. This melancholic film is inventive, eerie, peculiar, captivating magic realism. It works a theme about escape from grief and loneliness, and addresses issues about digital surveillance and privacy. The film starts promisingly, but sags with the introduction of a weirdo-boy-meets-pretty-girl narrative and their madcap twists whereupon it focuses too much on clever technique than story spine. Nevertheless, intrigue is held across the strange characterisations and imaginative touches.

Aloys Aldon is a lonely man, he works as a Private Detective in Switzerland. He was under the thrall of his father who has just died and now he is alone with a cat who seems estranged and has a magnesium deficiency. He has spent his life viewing the World through the view finder of his cam corder

Then something happens that makes him realise just how bland his existence is and that he has all the charm of a disused latrine – but strangely it awakens in him a part of his being that he had felt erstwhile lost. Now this is a strange film and it is meant to be. It co-mingles reality with fantasy in a way that is completely believable.

The music is often portentous or hinting at a dripping emotion like a dam about to burst. The shots are all beautifully framed and the tension creeps up on you without you realising it – only to be broken by moments of release. In short a film that a lot of thought and soul has gone into. It is a slow starter though a very slow start but it is so worth staying with – this is one for those who appreciate what cinema can do and not expect it to be as they have always known.