| 19.08.2006 |
| http://www.variety.com |
| Quelle: Variety |
| Gefangene (Germany) A Tag/Traum Filmproduktion production, in association with Fischerfilm, ZDF. (International sales: Tag/Traum, Cologne, Germany.) Produced by Gerd Haag. Co-producer, Markus Fischer. Directed by lain Dilthey. Screenplay, Ulrike Maria Hund. With: Jule Boewe, Andreas Schmidt, Eva Loebau, Nicholas Monu, Robert Lohr, Theo Marteau. By DEREK ELLEY A small, highly focused chamber drama about two lonely people who become captives of their desires, "Prisoners" reps a strong official first feature from German-based director lain Dilthey, who's already made a mark an the fest circuit with film-school outings "I'll Wait an You Hand and Foot" (2000) and "The Longing" (2002). Again centered an a plain-but-pretty female protag - here played by Jule Boewe, in a mesmerizing perf - pic is primarily fest and cable fare, but confirms Dilthey as a director with a strong personal signature and an immediately recognizable Universe of his own. Like a very similar German actress, Sandra Hueller, in the recent "Requiem," Boewe is more than half the reason to watch the movie, giving a performance marbled with ironic humor that gradually involves the viewer in her complex rote. Thesp plays Irene, a university microbiology lecturer in an unnamed town, who lives alone, has an (unreciprocated) liking for a male colleague, and becomes fascinated with an inmate of the jail opposite her apartment, watching him through binoculars and writing him letters. Main weakness of the picture - Dilthey's first from someone else's script - is that not enough time is spent establishing this remote relationship. Early reels, which take their time, concentrate more an Irene's lonesome life, punctuated by an occasional drink with a friend, Paula (Eva Loebau). Irene's only real joy seems to be in her amateur singing, as she preps a solo for an upcoming concert. Chunks of that celestial, classical number help to push the movie along during the first half-hour. Story jerks up a notch when the wild-eyed, middle-aged prisoner (Andreas Schmidt) suddenly forces his way into her apartrnent and ties her up. He's escaped and killed a guard. In a remarkable section, lasting almost 20 minutes, there's no dialogue between the two as they get used to the other being there. When they do finally talk, it's the start of a curious relationship between a man who's escaped a physical prison and a young woman who's constructed an emotional one of her own. With the minimum of dialogue, script shows them going through the various phases of a regular relationship but in a very skewed, sometimes blackly ironic way. By the time she slaps his face, no longer afraid of his physical violence, it's almost as if they're a spatting married couple. Though Dilthey's direction, with its long, fixed takes, sometimes overstretches the material, the approach pays dividends in the final 15 minutes, as Irene, the prisoner and Paula find themselves on the run together. Like "The Longing," pic has the same periods of stillness ruptured by moments of action or violence. Hans Fromm's clinical but surprisingly resonant lensing -- from the white interiors of Irene's workplace to the richer hues of her apartment -- keep an ongoing frame around the characters that's suddenly broken in the final 15 minutes as the protags drive to the countryside. As Irene's best friend, Loebau (the young lead in "Hand and Foot") provides a convincing counterpoint to Boewe's repressed character, while Schmidt creates a rough, very physical presence that sets up the sexual tension between Irene and the con. |
