Jerichow

A film set in eastern Germany. Thomas has been discharged from the army and come home. His mother's house is left to him but there is no money. He needs work. Ali is a Turkish-German man who runs a chain of snack bars in the area. Having lost his licence he needs a driver and hires Thomas. The two get on; Ali trusts him and takes him into his house. Ali's wife Laura is there. It becomes clear that she stays in the marriage because of her own debts. What follows is a familiar triangle. But what the film is interested in is not passion but money: who owes what to whom, who is obliged to protect whom, and the cost of every step. The narrative says very little. The scenes are short, the dialogue is limited, and what the characters think is known only from what they do. The landscape is part of the story: empty roads, closed businesses and deserted stretches by the sea. Benno Fürmann plays Thomas, Nina Hoss plays Laura and Hilmi Sözer plays Ali. Christian Petzold directed. A strong example for anyone who likes European cinema and restrained suspense. For a viewer expecting pace, the film proceeds quietly and gathers its tension in the last section.