What You Can See from Here

Aron Lehmann's 2022 German film is adapted from Mariana Leky's bestselling novel. In a small village the grandmother Selma dreams of an okapi; by the village's belief this means someone will die within twenty-four hours, and everyone decides to say what they have been meaning to say. The idea is fine: fear of death forcing people into honesty. The story does not stay inside that day but spreads across decades and follows Luise growing up. Corinna Harfouch and Karl Markovics are strong. The film's limit is softening the novel's strangeness on screen and sliding at times into too endearing a register. The photography is warm. Who it's for: viewers who like German literary adaptations and films in a magical realist register. Who it's not for: readers who love the novel and want a faithful adaptation, or anyone avoiding themes of death and grief.