(Peter
Simonischek & Sandra Hüller)
Toni
Erdmann is a winner and my film of the year so far. (Review by Patrick
Compton - 10)
This German movie may appear to
be a comedy, but it’s better to think of it as a beautifully judged
father-daughter drama with laughs. Whatever you call it, Toni Erdmann is a winner and my film of the year so far.
Dad is an ageing baby boomer with
a penchant for silly japes; his daughter is a stressed businesswoman under
constant pressure in modern, heartless, capitalist Europe. How can these two
come together, except as conflicting forces?
Well, director, producer and
scriptwriter Maren Ade has shown us the way with this original, long (162
minutes) and absorbing film. It’s a movie that is at once melancholy and
hilarious, painful and hopeful, whacky and woebegone. And yes, it needs every
minute of its length to fully create its world.
The movie is essentially about
two people. Peter Simonischek is remarkable as Winfried Conradi, a huggie bear
of a man who uses paint, wigs, costumes and joke-shop false teeth to clown
around, often to his daughter’s intense embarrassment.
Ines (a magnificent, subtle
performance by Sandra Hüller) couldn’t be more different. Tense and anal,
perpetually on the end of her cellphone, she no longer finds her dad’s jokes
funny and is relieved to see the back of him after a home visit when she
returns to Bucharest where she works as a management consultant.
Imagine, therefore, her
consternation when her business dealings are dealt a savagely hilarious blow by
a surprise visit from her father who decides to take a holiday after the death
of his beloved dog. This time, however, he comes in the disguise of one Toni
Erdmann, an alleged “life coach”.
As Ines goes about her life, she
is stalked by Toni who turns up in hotel lobbies, boardrooms, night clubs and
restaurants. As this continues, the word “frosty” doesn’t even start to
describe their relationship.
Gradually, however, it becomes
clear that Toni’s shenanigans are a desperate attempt to show his daughter that
there’s a better, richer life out there. Or, in the words of William
Wordsworth: “The world is too much with us; late and soon/Getting and spending,
we lay waste our powers.”
It would be tempting to reduce
this film to a formula; that it’s a critique of globalisation and modern
capitalism, but that would be too simplistic. Aside from its political
implications, the film is a deeply felt portrait of a relationship that’s gone
cold but may be beginning to come alive again. This is where Hüller’s extraordinary
performance hits paydirt as she shows us how Ines gradually opens herself up to
receive the message that her father is trying to communicate to her. We see
that this is a tortuous process in which the hurdles are many and
extraordinary, but the audience is carried along on this swirling tide as two
vulnerable human beings in need of love start to materialise.
There are some truly stunning
moments: an uncomfortable sex scene that will put you off petit fours for life,
a birthday party with a difference, a Whitney Houston song that might make you
cheer and even an appearance from someone wearing a hairy Bulgarian folk
costume. But don’t mistake this film for an exercise in eccentricity; it’s a
deeply moving movie that might make you weep with laughter.
Toni
Erdmann opened at Cinema Nouveau at Gateway on June 9. – Patrick Compton
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