Reviewed by Sunchica Unevska
Towards: “No”, directed by Dietrich Brueggemann, written by Dietrich and Anna Brueggemann, starring: Anna Brueggemann and Alexander Khuon, Germany 2021
Can “no” avoid life's challenges?
The German film “No” by Dietrich Brueggemann at the European Film Festival in Palić in the main program was a real refreshment, especially since it was a rather weak program, in which almost everything was crammed. But “No” stood out from the very first viewing with its style, with its fresh idea, with its fun, bizarreness and wackiness, but also the power for a (marital) relationship to speak in such an inventive and original way.
Indeed, it is not at all simple to talk about something that is schematized, about something that happens every day, about something so common, that the protagonists themselves it scares that they will be dragged into something which goes without saying, although they don't want it. After all, this applies to all relationships, now and always, it all depends on how you approach them and how you address all the “rules”, expectations, fears and attempts to avoid the trap that everyone eventually falls into.
Already at the very beginning, the director, through a very “normal” conversation, tells us that his approach is different, as funny as it is dramatic, at times hilarious, mostly because of the surrealism and completely absurd scenes. You wouldn't believe, in fact, how in that whole concept the story, the idea is retained and in what way all possible stories are rounded off.
The actress Dina and the doctor Michael have been together for many years and are facing a new step, which should or is expected to be taken in the relationship, they are facing a real dilemma, how to continue, whether to enter the adventure called marriage or to they split up. Dina says: “No”, and of course they move on. The wedding itself is totally freaky, heralding such intrigue and unexpectedness, in which the director consciously takes things to such extremes, showing everything we fear or want to avoid, showing what we don't want to talk about, but things go their way whether we like it or not. What is different, is how we will face them and how we will react.
The film “No” is signed by Dietrich Brueggemann and his sister Anna Brueggemann, who plays the main role, and they wrote the story for seven years. She is told through 15 images, in which what is interesting is that the camera is mostly static, but the film doesn’t leave such an impression. On the contrary, the story is lively, furious, the dialogues can be totally bizarre, the events are brought to the extreme, but nothing is invented or exaggerated, especially if you are aware of how much it all has a logical basis, no matter how crazy it may seem. After all, it's no accident that this is a comedy, the playfulness of which makes even the most difficult things bearable, but no less visible.
But, life simply flows and brings all the challenges, whether as a loving couple, whether as parents, whether as someone's children or brothers and sisters, whether as unemployed or when we are psychologically on the edge, unable to overcome the obstacles that always we tried to run away. It is something that is quite common for everyone, each of us tries not to be what he or those around him believe he is, each of us tries to make his relationship different and avoid those so boring and familiar patterns, each of us wants to deal with challenges in our own way, but not for them to carry him.
“No” is a strong psychological analysis in which each of us can recognize ourselves. At times the film seems hard, and even so bizarre that it confuses, but it’s not boring at all even though there are only 14 cuts. When you separate a little from everything that it offers in that short period, you will realize how lifelike it is, how much it contains a part of each of us and how much it touches on issues that never lose their importance. Because, that's it. Life is like that. Extraordinary, lively, wacky, with great roles and scenes that cannot leave anyone indifferent. Probably one of the more interesting young directors in German cinema.
Yorumlar