Romania, 1968. Two very different brothers: Mihai is a secret police informant, Emil is a dedicated dissident. When they have the opportunity to have their ailing father’s eyes operated on in East Germany, the three set out on a moving odyssey which finally takes them to West Germany.
Billed as the perfect Eastern European road movie on previous international festival outings, Anca Miruna Lazarescu tells her own family story as well as the life of so many people from Europe whose life was divided and decided for by the Iron Curtain. Yet this is not a movement from hell to heaven: exchanging one political system for another doesn’t necessarily mean being welcomed with open arms or understanding.
The director’s "Silent River" is among the most awarded German shorts ever – a harsh drama. In her first long work she chooses a tone that juggles political and family drama with absurdist yet amusing sequences. But the question arising here is crystal clear: is there a thinkable political system that would not create mental enemies and frontiers and belittling outsiders? “That Trip We Took With Dad” looks back to the past – nonetheless being a painfully topical movie today.
Christoph Gröner
PÖFF 2016: That Trip We Took with Dad
Die Reise mit Vater
Genre
Comedy, Drama
Run time
1h 51min
Genre
Comedy, Drama
Run time
1h 51min
Romania, 1968. Two very different brothers: Mihai is a secret police informant, Emil is a dedicated dissident. When they have the opportunity to have their ailing father’s eyes operated on in East Germany, the three set out on a moving odyssey which finally takes them to West Germany.
Billed as the perfect Eastern European road movie on previous international festival outings, Anca Miruna Lazarescu tells her own family story as well as the life of so many people from Europe whose life was divided and decided for by the Iron Curtain. Yet this is not a movement from hell to heaven: exchanging one political system for another doesn’t necessarily mean being welcomed with open arms or understanding.
The director’s "Silent River" is among the most awarded German shorts ever – a harsh drama. In her first long work she chooses a tone that juggles political and family drama with absurdist yet amusing sequences. But the question arising here is crystal clear: is there a thinkable political system that would not create mental enemies and frontiers and belittling outsiders? “That Trip We Took With Dad” looks back to the past – nonetheless being a painfully topical movie today.
Christoph Gröner
Billed as the perfect Eastern European road movie on previous international festival outings, Anca Miruna Lazarescu tells her own family story as well as the life of so many people from Europe whose life was divided and decided for by the Iron Curtain. Yet this is not a movement from hell to heaven: exchanging one political system for another doesn’t necessarily mean being welcomed with open arms or understanding.
The director’s "Silent River" is among the most awarded German shorts ever – a harsh drama. In her first long work she chooses a tone that juggles political and family drama with absurdist yet amusing sequences. But the question arising here is crystal clear: is there a thinkable political system that would not create mental enemies and frontiers and belittling outsiders? “That Trip We Took With Dad” looks back to the past – nonetheless being a painfully topical movie today.
Christoph Gröner
Info
Rating
(none)
Production year
2016
Global distributor
--
Local distributor
Pimedate Ööde Filmifestival MTÜ
In cinema
11/21/2016