Ondine

The movie that made me fall in love with Berlin, which I went twice and couldn't love. A modern Romeo + Juliet story from the Germans. A visual and auditory feast.

A film with a unique spirit that breaks down the prejudices of "Germans can't make a love movie" and "German is not an emotional language".

Watched at Sydney film festival Continues this directors rewarding output. Plenty to put the mind across especially if you know something of Berlin. Definitely available for several rewarding viewing to unravel these fine actors and the story they build.

I also enjoyed the history lessons as they also reveal things about undine, and provoke thoughts about Berlin the stage for this movie. I enjoyed the way the camera brings us to the characters and we never tire of its lens. It's so easy to be mesmerised by the leads faces and gestures.

Can't wait to watch again Bravo Christian!

Christian Petzold is a big name in German cinema, but his new film "Undine" is doing not so well in the IMDB rating. Having seen the film I wondered why, because I found it fascinating. There are a couple of explanations.

The first one is that the regular admirers of Christian Petzold were disappointed. Was he not one of the main directors of the "Berliner Schule" and was he not supposed to make socially critical movies in stead of a mix of romance ad fantasy? Petzold himself put the "Berliner Schule" in perspective in a recent interview and said that it were just a couple of directors who happened to attend the same school at the same time. Of course they were influended by there teachers, but that was all. They were and remained different type of directors.

The second explanation is that "Undine" is very hard to follow without prior knowledge of the legend on which "Undine" is loosely based. This is true. See the following information as necessary foreknowledge and not as a spoiler. Creatures who are half fish / half woman can be divided into two categories. The good ones are called Mermaids (the German fresh water synonym is Undine) and they come out of the sea to love a man. The bad ones are called Sirens (German fresh water synonym Lorelei) and they are luring men into the water. Undine is good but in the story of Friedrich de la Motte Fourqué (1811) she is dependent on her male lover for a soul. When this male lover is however unfaithfull he has to pay with his life and Undine returns to the water.

Mermaids often are male fantasies. They are sexually mature but mentally very naive. In "Undine" Petzold portrays a slightly more female friendly version of Undine. This is however not attributable to Paula Beer, the actress who is the female lead in the last Petzold films and is a worthy successor of Nina Hoss. It is attributale to her two lovers. The first lover (Johannes played by Jacob Matschenz) is the wrong one, who sees a relationship as a transaction. The second lover (Christoph played by Franz Rogowski) is the right one, who sees a relationshipas as a journey of discovery. He even postpones sex to a later stage. Because of the logic of the de la Motte Fourqué legend the affair with Christoph is intense but nevertheless tragic.

Even knowing the de la Motte Fourqué legend makes the film not very easily comprehensible. What is for example the relationship between the death of Johannes and the resurection of Christoph? After the lights go on there is some time needed to "digest" "Undine". For some this is annoying, for me it is the confirmation of quality.

Loosely based on the 19th century novella of Friedrich de la Motte Fouque about an aquatic spirit who must marry a knight to gain a soul, but has to kill him if he is unfaithful, German director Christian Petzold's ("Transit") Undine weaves a tale that skirts the edges between romance and fantasy. Reuniting the stars of "Transit," Paula Beer ("Never Look Away"), winner of the Silver Bear Award at the Berlin Film Festival and Franz Rogowski ("A Hidden Life"), the film seems like a risky departure from the director's recent work about people caught in the traumatic events of contemporary European history, yet it propels his ideas about timelessness and the notion that the past is always present, even though the form may change.

Set in present-day Berlin, a city that was ironically founded on water, Undine, opens a door to the past with its repetition of the lovely Bach's adagio from his Concerto in D Minor. Beer is Undine, a free-lance historian and museum guide who lectures international groups on Berlin's Urban Development project located on Berlin's Museum Island, connecting the city's ties to its past. In particular, she talks about the city's Humboldt Forum project, a partial reconstruction of the demolished 18th century Berlin Palace, explaining that the castle was demolished during the Socialist era and is now being reconstructed.

Without prior knowledge of the fairy tale, which Petzold may assume we all know, Undine's nature is unclear. She looks and acts human, although there is strangeness about her silences and long, penetrating looks. According to the director, "she is a little bit like a ghost, like a phantom." Petzold does not reveal Undine's true nature but clues to her real self emerge when her aloofness and seemingly robotic manner begin to define her presence. In the opening scene, Undine sits outside a Berlin café with her boyfriend, Johannes (Jacob Matschenz, "A Regular Woman"). Johannes threatens to leave her for another woman but is reminded that if he leaves her, she will kill him. Only a half hour later, she runs into Christoph (Rogowski), an industrial diver who has a warm, outgoing personality and Johannes is temporarily forgotten.

After an aquarium tank explodes, they lie together on the floor in a pool of water, dead fish, and broken glass, staring into each other's eyes. As he picks pieces of glass from her blouse in a scene that is romantic, surreal, and comic, his caring gives her a sense of what it feels like to be loved. Of course, the irony here is that he works underwater, while she, a water spirit, lives and works on land. Though their romance is real, Petzold declared, "They were like two dancers who get very close, but like in tango, they still keep a certain distance, which shows the respect they have for each other."

The chemistry between them is strong, however, and their relationship can be enjoyed with or without knowledge of the story's mythological roots. Working underwater, after confronting a giant catfish ostensibly without fear, Christoph sees Undine's name displayed on an ancient arch deep beneath the surface and takes her diving on their first date to see her name. She momentarily disappears before floating to the surface, her diving apparatus stripped allowing Christof to further bond by resuscitating her. According to legend, if Undine returns to her roots, she must remain there. She is, however, a rule breaker who is not beholden to either legend or men.

Undine is challenging to unravel but in its essence, it is a tribute to the strength and independence of women or, as a recent popular song might put it, to "the power of love." As Petzold describes it, "Struggling against domination, Undine exists only through men. Then along comes a man, a proletarian, an industrial diver, who interferes with the curse. He is not suspicious; he's innocent and for the first time seems to see her primarily without any sexual desire and without wanting to dominate her. This is new for her, and a path to a new world seems possible."

Greetings again from the darkness. German filmmaker Christian Petzold has a track record of creating thought-provoking, intelligent, and ambitious films such as BARBARA (2012) and TRANSIT (2018). This time out he re-teams his TRANSIT co-stars Paula Beer and Franz Rogowski in a film that's more fable or fairy tale than conventional storytelling. If forced to label, we might go with Fantasy-Romance-Drama-Mystery, which really means the film doesn't easily fit into a known genre.

The film opens with a very uncomfortable break-up scene between Johannes (Jacob Matschentz) and Undine (Ms. Beer). When he says they are done, she responds, "If you leave me, I'll have to kill you. You know that." While researching the name Undine, I stumbled upon the 1811 German fairy tale of a water nymph Friedrich de la Motte Fouquet, which clearly inspired Petzold. The story has some similarities to "The Little Mermaid", itself a Danish fairy tale originally written by Hans Christian Anderson. It helps to know all of this upfront to prevent some of the frustration that goes with deciphering what is real and what is imagined.

As one would imagine, water is a recurring element throughout - beginning with Undine's chance and unusual café meet-cute with Christoph (Mr. Rogowski). The two find themselves attracted and connected after being drenched. Christoph is an industrial diver, so water is a part of his life ... as is 'Big Guenther', the legendary giant catfish he spots while on a job. Undine is a historian who holds sessions for tourists during which she recounts the architectural evolution and urban sprawl of Berlin over the past centuries, by utilizing scale models of the different eras. We also learn that "Berlin" means marsh, or a dry place in the marsh ... yet another water-related aspect.

Ms. Beer, who was so good in FRANTZ (2016) and NEVER LOOK AWAY (2018) continues her fine work, and reuniting with her TRANSIT co-star, Mr. Rogowski (VICTORIA, 2015) works out beautifully, as they have a nice rapport. Mr. Petzold's film has a supernatural element and is dreamlike at times, and though I've used the "fairy tale" description, it's clearly a very high concept film for grown-ups ... and there is enough humor ("Stayin' Alive by the Bee Gees) to offset the doomed relationships and Undine's return to her natural element. It's quite a trip for those who are up for it.

In theaters and On Demand June 4, 2021.