Based on the novel by Scottish writer A.L. Kennedy: Helen Brindel is trapped in a violent marriage and the prison of her faith when she falls in love with a scholar, Professor Eduard Gluck. A well-mannered man, but as Helen finds out soon enough, a porn addict behind closed doors.
Even if German stars Martina Gedeck and Ulrich Tukur had pivotal roles in oscar-winning "Life of Others" and shared the theater stage often enough, they have never played lovers on screen. This is their perfect rendez-vous. Their on-screen-chemistry diminshes the distance between these odd lovers in a perfectly timed and wonderfully cinematic dance.
Recent German cinema has finally overcome character simplicity. And these figures are complex and rich, contradictory and alive. As one reviewer stated so wonderfully, the film is „calm and orderly on the surface, but roiling with inchoate perversities underneath.“
Director Sven Taddicken has made a name for himself with expressive mixtures of drama and humour. Here he infuses his style with self-assured elegance, giving the story an edge that traditionally seemed to be reserved for high class British arthouse: Helen Brindel and Eduard Gluck are burdened by their fate and character, sure. But they still know how to laugh. And make us chuckle with them.
Christoph Gröner
PÖFF 2016: Original Bliss
Gleißendes Glück
Genre
Drama
Director
Sven Taddicken
Run time
1h 41min
Genre
Drama
Director
Sven Taddicken
Run time
1h 41min
Based on the novel by Scottish writer A.L. Kennedy: Helen Brindel is trapped in a violent marriage and the prison of her faith when she falls in love with a scholar, Professor Eduard Gluck. A well-mannered man, but as Helen finds out soon enough, a porn addict behind closed doors.
Even if German stars Martina Gedeck and Ulrich Tukur had pivotal roles in oscar-winning "Life of Others" and shared the theater stage often enough, they have never played lovers on screen. This is their perfect rendez-vous. Their on-screen-chemistry diminshes the distance between these odd lovers in a perfectly timed and wonderfully cinematic dance.
Recent German cinema has finally overcome character simplicity. And these figures are complex and rich, contradictory and alive. As one reviewer stated so wonderfully, the film is „calm and orderly on the surface, but roiling with inchoate perversities underneath.“
Director Sven Taddicken has made a name for himself with expressive mixtures of drama and humour. Here he infuses his style with self-assured elegance, giving the story an edge that traditionally seemed to be reserved for high class British arthouse: Helen Brindel and Eduard Gluck are burdened by their fate and character, sure. But they still know how to laugh. And make us chuckle with them.
Christoph Gröner
Even if German stars Martina Gedeck and Ulrich Tukur had pivotal roles in oscar-winning "Life of Others" and shared the theater stage often enough, they have never played lovers on screen. This is their perfect rendez-vous. Their on-screen-chemistry diminshes the distance between these odd lovers in a perfectly timed and wonderfully cinematic dance.
Recent German cinema has finally overcome character simplicity. And these figures are complex and rich, contradictory and alive. As one reviewer stated so wonderfully, the film is „calm and orderly on the surface, but roiling with inchoate perversities underneath.“
Director Sven Taddicken has made a name for himself with expressive mixtures of drama and humour. Here he infuses his style with self-assured elegance, giving the story an edge that traditionally seemed to be reserved for high class British arthouse: Helen Brindel and Eduard Gluck are burdened by their fate and character, sure. But they still know how to laugh. And make us chuckle with them.
Christoph Gröner
Info
Rating
(none)
Production year
2016
Local distributor
Pimedate Ööde Filmifestival MTÜ
In cinema
11/27/2016