Spieler

Jojo and Tom are gamblers – adrenaline junkies who make the best of their perennial losing streak. That said, if they won, where would the rush come from? Accompanied by Jojo’s cousin Kathrin, they embark on a trip towards the big time they’ll never see. Thank God there’s a benign narrator up in the clouds who sees to it that the glass always looks half-full.
The craziest of Graf’s creations and his sole attempt at comedy that really works, Spieler doesn’t exactly offer nonstop laughs – it’s more like a serene, 111-minute state of suspension and wonder. At its best, Spieler plays like Nouvelle Vague Relaunched – it has the goofiness of Chabrol circa Marie-Chantal contre le Docteur Kha (1965); the perplexing lightness of the Swiss’ Une femme est une femme (1961) and the sardonic aspects of Rohmer around the time of Le signe du lion (1959). Woaaaaaa! Does this explain the histrionics-prone acting, shrill dialogues and generally campy look? You bet! (And yes, Spieler is also corny.)

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