Roter Himmel (Christian Petzold, 2023)
Roter Himmel is a wryly funny comedy-drama by German filmmaker Christian Petzold, that won him the Grand Jury Prize at the most recent Berlinale.
Afire, as the movie is called in English, is about young writer Leon (Austrian actor Thomas Schubert), who is working on his second novel, with the -frankly speaking - not very promising title Club Sandwich.
To complete the book, he travels with his photographer friend Felix (Langston Uibel) to a modest vacation home near the Baltic coast. During the weekend his publisher Dieter (Matthias Brandt) will visit to discuss the work in progress.
Upon arriving at the cottage, Leon and Felix are confronted by the fact that there has been a mix-up as there is someone else staying in the cottage: a young woman called Nadja (Paula Beer), who they first get to know through her - and her rescue swimmer boyfriend Devid (Enno Trebs) - noisy love making in the room next door.
Felix can adjust, but for Thomas the weekend goes from bad to worse: he can’t sleep, he can’t get the work done and he can’t seem to connect with the people around him.
To make matters worse, there is a huge forest fire threatening to come closer and closer, even if Thomas at first seems oblivious to its inherent danger.
Afire is Petzold’s follow-up to Undine (2020) and the second movie in a possible series of films about the elements and their effect on humans. After the uncontrollable amount of water in the fascinating mermaid-movie Undine, Roter Himmel is not just about the imminent forest fire, but also about the fire that lives deep inside Leon. Unfortunately he isn’t really able to unleash that passion.
Leon is in love with Nadja, but when he allows her to read his manuscript and she tells him it’s crap, he retreats further inward. And when his publisher Dieter seems more interested in Nadja’s lively personality and in Felix’s photography, Thomas grows so sad you can’t help thinking: well, at least at some point you will get a story out of this.
Writer and director Christian Petzold (Barbara, Phoenix, Transit) is one of the most interesting filmmakers to come out of Germany in the last couple of decades. Barbara won him the Silver Bear for Best Director back in 2012, while Roter Himmel won the Silver Bear Special Jury Prize at the most recent Berlinale.
And judging by the piercing insights into the psyche of the frustrated writer and the people that surround him, that seems entirely justified. Even though the production isn’t as lavish as Undine’s it is elegantly shot, well edited and superbly acted across the board.
Paula Beer (who also starred in Undine) is always a joy to watch, but the real revelation here is Schubert, who completely embodies the unhappy Leon, without ever quite pushing him into self-parody.
Leon clearly envies Felix and the others sense of physicality. Felix isn’t just a talented photographer, he and Devid can also fix the leaky roof of their vacation home in a way that Leon never could. Felix, for his sins, doesn’t think that writing is ‘work’, it’s just something you ‘do’ if you have the talent for it.
But writing is work and in a story the writer always has the last word, even if a twist of fate forces him to deviate from his original project. Leading to an ending that is both cynical and believable. Great stuff.
Note: After its premiere at the Berlinale in February, the movie is making its way through both the festival circuit and the arthouses of the world.