In this tightly stylised film, a policeman, probably frustrated by his unsatisfactory work in a small town, can no longer contain his aggression towards his wife, who spends her days at home with their four-year-old daughter. German director Philip Gröning, best known for his long monastery documentary Into Great Silence (2005), won the Special Prize in Venice with it.
Framed with precision, the cop’s everyday life is observed calmly and without music. These realistic scenes are combined with an uncertain chronology and unexpected moments of fantasy and visual explosions. For instance, all of the family members sing a song straight into the camera and a bathtub suddenly turns out to be improbably large. The whole is captured in 59 chapters, of which the start and finish keep appearing on title cards. In some, the leading role is played by an elderly unidentified man, or animals like a fox, hare or squirrel.
Film details
- Country of production
- Germany
- Year
- 2013
- Festival edition
- IFFR 2014
- Length
- 175'
- Medium/Format
- DCP
