Jerichow

In this contemporary version of The Postman Always Rings Twice, Christian Petzold allows the dishonourably discharged Afghanistan veteran Thomas to return to his home village of Jerichow. His mother has died and he decides to live in her house. Petzold immediately plays it hard with a creditor coming for his pound of flesh. Then by chance the Turkish-German owner of 45 snack bars turns up in Thomas’ life and takes him on as a driver. The businessman, hard and suspicious, reveals himself to be a jealous husband who abuses his beautiful young German wife. Thomas immediately falls for her. A classic drama is born.
Petzold sketches less direct action and suspense in this dramatic thriller. Minimal information about the characters’ backgrounds makes them initially as unpredictable as Petzold’s unexpected plot turns. The film is situated in an economically backward area on the north coast of former East Germany, as a result of which the surroundings themselves evoke the necessary unease. As the viewer spends a lot of time guessing the real motives of the three protagonists, the result is a cunning cat-and-mouse game that has to culminate in a dramatic finale. Petzold, one of the most talented of today’s German directors, has in fact made with Jerichow a reprise of his Wolfsburg (2004), in which Nina Höss and Benno Fürmann also play leading roles.

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