Director: Christian Petzold

Stars: Paula Beer, Barbara Auer, Matthias Brandt, Enno Trebs

Taking its title from Frédéric Chopin's Prelude in E Minor, German writer-director Petzold’s film is a compelling low-key drama which once again sees him working with collaborator Laura Beer. We first encounter Beer’s Laura, a depressed music student from Berlin, as she peers over the edge of a motorway bridge into a river. Returning home Laura finds her film producer boyfriend annoyed and anxious to leave for an important unspecified event. En route to the event in the countryside, Laura says she is unwell and asks to be driven to the station. After an incident, she is invited into the secluded house of middle-aged woman Betty (Auer) who looks after her. Laura meets Betty’s estranged mechanic husband Richard (Brandt) and their son Max (Trebbs) who works with him, when they are invited for dinner. The men behave strangely toward the new arrival, and it becomes clear that Betty is not taking care of Laura for purely altruistic reasons alone. After the prickly arch chamber comedy of ‘Afire’, this is a muted and modest affair, clocking in at under ninety minutes, with no musical soundtrack accompaniment other than the titular piece of music midway. The leads deliver compellingly nuanced performances with Petzold’s spare script leaving the audience to make their own connections, while incorporating fairy tale and thriller elements. Auer is particularly impressive as the clearly traumatised Betty.

David Willoughby

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