This is a German production by Maren Ade (the director and writer) who drew inspiration from her own relationship with her father in this story. With such an original voice it's clear to see real-life ties. We all must know that relative or friend who will stop at nothing to put a smile on the face of others - a sort of selfless act that reveals more about a person that you might believe. That is Winfried (Peter Simonischek) who lives alone with his dying dog, detached from his ex-wife and estranged from his daughter Ines (Sandra Hüller) who spends her time working in big oil in Bucharest. We meet Winifried at the beginning of the film trying to fool a delivery man by donning fake teeth and pretending to be making a pipe bomb. Later, we see him visit his elderly mother with face paint like a skeleton. He's a clown that works to only get a laugh. Outwardly, you wouldn't think his life was that spectacular.
After seeing his daughter during her Birthday, Winifried begins to see that Ines is not as happy or successful as she is leading on. She takes long phone calls and thinly masks a sense of terror that nobody can recognize besides her father. On a whim, he decides to travel to Bucharest to spend some time with her. She puts him on the pull-out couch and is generally dismissive of his presence, instead working to impress her CEO and try her hardest to impress the corporate heads who might finally give her the promotion she wants.
The relationship between these two characters is endlessly interesting and carefully strategized. At a cocktail party, Winifried brings his fake teeth (always tucked in his breast pocket - just in case) and Ines rolls her eyes. When she fails to charm the CEO, she is mortified to see her own father becoming chummy with him over small talk and vulgarities. She is weakened by the fact that even though she is more successful, her father will always have the upper hand. She never says this, but it's clear through her actions.
After a few days, Winifried leaves to head home and leave his daughter be, and yet no sooner is she back at work than a mysterious figure appears: a tall man with an obviously fake wig and dentures named Toni Erdmann. The rouse is so clearly fake and yet Ines makes the choice to accept her father as this clown - a life coach with a knack for wearing the same velvet suit over and over. To her coworkers and friends who don't know Winifried, they see Mr. Erdmann as a real man who is larger than life. Ines, reluctant at first, ever so slowly comes to see her father in a new light.
I don't think that's really an accurate description of the plot if only because the movie feels much more spontaneous. The staging of scenes and the way dialogue progresses helps greatly in setting the tone for this indescribable movie. There is a scene in which Ines and her supervisor are on a rooftop garden discussing plans for a business venture, and in the out-of-focus background we suddenly see a man taking a phone call and fiddling with a whoopie cushion. If you don't pay attention you won't see it. Another wild moment sees Ines throwing a small Birthday party at her house and finally letting it all go... Quite literally.
The run time in itself is the main talking point for this movie: a 3-hour German comedy. Who knew? What I came to see after is that this time is so focused on developing the relationship of these two people that any shorter running time might have had a lessened impact. By the time the final scene rolls around and Ines jokingly puts her father's teeth in, it's a reward of patience and a complete fulfillment of the arc of such a crazy story. In retrospect that last scene in particular has so much more weight when we see the roles change and Ines slowly step into the role of sympathizer to care for her father. It's easy to miss, but in a movie where a man uses a cheese grater as a source of euphoria, such a quiet conclusion really speaks wonders.
No comments:
Post a Comment