MOVIE REVIEW
“UNDINE”
Not rated. In German with subtitles. On VOD and at Landmark Kendall Square.
Grade: B
A haunting, if also not quite entirely successful mix of modern love story and the Twilight Zone, “Undine” invokes German history and folklore in this tale of the love affair of a historian at a Berlin museum, who is on the rebound, and a seriously smitten industrial diver. The historian’s name is Undine Wibeau (Paula Beer in her second film with director Christian Petzold), and she and diver Christoph (Franz Rogowski, Petzold’s “Transit”) meet not-so-cute when he accidentally breaks a large aquarium and its contents spill out, knocking them down. In any other film, this would seem absurdly heavy-handed. But Petzold gets away with it. In opening scenes, Undine’s previous boyfriend Johannes (Jacob Matschenz) breaks up with her at the cafe with the aquarium, and she informs him that he “must die.”
The undine of European myth is a water nymph, who can become human and is doomed to die if her human lover is unfaithful to her. That figure has been the subject of poetry, ballet, theater, sculpture and opera. Hans Christian Anderson’s “The Little Mermaid” is a version of the myth of the undine.
But this “Undine” is no Disney film. We see Christoph at work underwater with his diving partner Monika (Maryam Zaree). She works on the surface and is in love with Christoph. While he’s welding a repair on a turbine, a giant catfish named Big Gunther makes his mysteriously creepy appearance. Christoph and Undine appear to be madly in love. But while they stroll along the river Spree, Undine spies Johannes and his new love approaching, and she gives Johannes a furtive look that the jealous Christoph notices. In her visitors talk at the museum, Undine tells the story of the 13th century founding of Berlin. The city’s name means “dry place in the marsh.”
Christoph takes Undine scuba diving and shows her her name on an underwater pillar. Something strange happens in the water. With the return of Johannes, the story takes a dark turn. On one level, “Undine” is an ode to Berlin itself, a city that rose from the ashes after World War II and remade itself. Writer-director Petzold is best known for his collaborations with the actor Nina Hoss, including “Yella” (2007), “Barbara” (2012) and “Phoenix” (2018). The music in “Undine” is a mix of Bach and the Bee Gees. Beer’s Undine is a bit earthbound to be a mythical being, although her final encounter with Johannes may make you wonder. Rogowski, who has a definite Joaquin Phoenix vibe, is even besotted by Undine’s museum talks.
“Undine” is about the past being recreated in the present, and the strange and manifold perils of love. The film’s drama is not always the equal of its themes. But “Undine” is a worthy effort.
(“Undine” contains sexually suggestive scenes.)
"love" - Google News
June 04, 2021 at 04:06PM
https://ift.tt/2T10oUk
‘Undine’ makes waves as otherworldly love story - Boston Herald
"love" - Google News
https://ift.tt/39HfQIT
Shoes Man Tutorial
Pos News Update
Meme Update
Korean Entertainment News
Japan News Update
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "‘Undine’ makes waves as otherworldly love story - Boston Herald"
Post a Comment