kein_Kenner

This is a story about a talented, ambitious, and highly defended young woman struggling with her humanity and struggling with whether to let others breach her walls. As those walls begin to crumble, so does she.

Let's dispense with the absurd notion that this is a "lesbian" film. Sure, Lola is in a same-sex relationship. But that no more makes this a lesbian film than her being in a business consulting job makes it a business consulting film. There's no indication whether she identifies as lesbian, or bi, or whatever. It doesn't matter. This is a film about being a human being.

I was pleased to see that Valerie Pachner won the German best actress award for this film. She was terrific.

As a viewer, I was left with the same uncertainty about what was really going on that Lola experienced. This diminished only a little on the second watching. I thought that was kind of cool.

Disclaimer: my opinions are backed up by zero expertise in Film as an art form, and far less than the average layperson's knowledge of movies in general.

The premise of this movie is not meant to be plausible; it's merely a setup for exploring the human condition. As a result, what it has to say about the human condition should be plausible. And while some of the character's musings, as well as her relationship with the dog, are plausible and engaging, much of her behavior (or lack thereof) isn't plausible: An invisible wall has suddenly separated me from the rest of the world? How odd! Guess I'd better get used to it!

Who would react that way? Nobody, that's who! We would rail against it, we would try to go over, under, around it, we would try to break through it, we would test it in every way imaginable. Not our heroine.

When she digs a garden or hays the field, she gets blisters because. . .she didn't bother to wear gloves! And so on.

It is slow and ponderous. Long shots where we get to watch her thinking.

There are things to appreciate about the movie: It's narrated in high German not the local dialect, so there's a chance of understanding her. It is well acted; it does offer some musings on the human condition; and most of all, the scenery is beyond beautiful.

If the purpose of this movie was to show that sex for pay is demeaning and unappealing, it succeeded. But that seems an unambitious goal. It seems like the relationship between Lea and Hanna should be the main theme to be developed, but we never get a real sense of what the relationship is actually about. How deeply do they care for each other? Why? The movie provides no grounding in their relationship ante, so the effects of their actions land in a vacuum.

There is an interesting scene where the more adventurous of the two declines to engage in a sex act that the less adventurous one is willing to perform. This offers an opportunity to explore their damaged sense of boundaries. . .but the opportunity is squandered. I guess there was a need to proceed to a graphic depiction of the next demeaning job.

I guess I can give it marks for consistency: it ends as shallowly as it begins.