TONI ERDMANN

Toni Erdmann

Germany 2016

Director Marin Ade

It is rare for me to see an Oscar-nominated foreign film BEFORE the Awards are given out, but I had the pleasure of watching the German entry "Toni Erdmann" with my brother at the legendary Film Forum in Greenwich Village last week. I cannot think of a better venue or companion to see this extremely odd but never dull "German comedy" -- if you thought that was an oxymoron, this film proves that it is not!

To be honest, it is a 'squirmy comedy' (to quote A.O. Scott, New York Times) that leaves you sad and reflective.  But hey, I didn't go into this expecting an Adam Sandler-Will Ferrell vehicle  (those movies leave me sad, too ... for the state of comedy in America!)

"Toni Erdmann" has a pace and mood that belies the comedy label: it is as much about changing family dynamics, workplace gender prejudices and the down side of globalization as it is about making an audience  laugh.  In fact, I found myself laughing at certain episodes only hours after seeing the movie (at the time I was too much in shock to laugh). This movie will stay with you.

Father Winfried and his grown daughter Ines lead very different lives, but are cut from the same cloth. [Toni Erdmann, by the way, is the fictional guise Winfried dons to insinuate himself in the professional and personal life of his daughter, who is a consultant for a German conglomerate working in Romania.]  Her interactions with co-workers provides a biting satire of the minefield of office politics a professional woman has to navigate even today. But it is the unconventional father-daughter relationship that dominates the film, and is exquisitely rendered by the two leads: their love-hate, push-pull stubbornness towards each other convinces you they are indeed related. They keep upping the ante on each other, and you never know how each will react. That leaves the audience off balance throughout.

Both lead actors are brilliant, but Sandra Huller as Ines delivers as fearless a performance as you will see this year. Her sly, deadpan comic timing is impeccable. Plus, you will never hear a more emotional performance of a Whitney Houston song in any movie EVER! (including and especially "The Bodyguard"!!)

I recommend this movie to adventurous filmgoers only.

Oscar Live Action Shorts

Every year my favorite of the "Oscar Shorts" programs is the Live Action Shorts category: by contrast, the short docs program is always the longest (and can be a slog if every one is about death and dying); and I have given up on the animated shorts because the program is a RIP-OFF (35 minutes of actual nominees followed by 40 minutes of padding). 

But the Live Action Shorts consistently deliver, and this year is no exception. I will review them from weakest to strongest:

SILENT NIGHTS (Denmark) -- The weakest of this year's nominees (by far), the story of a relationship between a Ghanaian immigrant and a homeless shelter volunteer is far-fetched yet predictable. This short is short on nuance, and long on cliche, thus the emotional payoff it strives for feels unearned. GRADE: C

SING (Hungary)
LA FEMME et le TVG (Switzerland)
The next two are tied for third, both enjoyable, if slight, stories.
"Sing" is about a new girl in a Hungarian elementary school who joins the choir that teaches their cut-throat choir teacher (played by the lovely Zsófia Szamosi -- look for her in the new Hungarian Psycho-Thriller Strangled (A Martfűi Rém)) a lesson in fairness and solidarity. The two young girls who spark the protest are wonderful.   GRADE: A-
"La Femme et le TVG" is the more substantial of the two, with a stunning lead performance by the great British actress Jane Birkin. She plays against type, as a lonely, widowed senoir citizen, running a bakery in a small Swiss town. No Birkin bags in sight! She embarks on an unlikely, but true!, relationship with the train conductor who passes directly under her window twice-a-day for 15 years. It packs quite a bit of bittersweet whimsy in its 30-minute running time (And even has time for a climactice race to the Zurich train station). A dark horse for the Oscar. GRADE A-

ENNEMIS INTERIEURS (France) -- "Enemies Within" is the most-topical of the five nominees: an intense, compact story of a French-Algerian whose innocent interview to become a French citizen becomes an interrogation into his (supposed) terrorist ties. It confronts the issues of race, religion and 'homeland security' in a France that is more open to these debates than a lot of countries I can think of. Well acted and directed, I will not be disappointed if it wins the Oscar. GRADE: A+

TIMECODE (Spain) -- I have to give the edge to the shortest of the five shorts (15 minutes), because it uses the format most-economically: a precise story, well-told and filmed, that builds to a satisfying, and hilarious climax. The film it most reminds me of is 2014's excellent (and unfairly robbed of the Oscar that year) "Butter Lamp" (France-Tibet).

 The entire film takes place in the confines of a private garage, and is mostly revealed through security-camera footage. To reveal anything more is to spoil the joys of this small gem of a film. GRADE: A+.
I WANT & THINK it will win the Oscar!