A cottage in the woods: isolated, idyllic and unavoidably reminiscent of some half-forgotten fairy tale.
Unfortunately, Leon (Thomas Schubert) is not a country person.
Leon is definitely not a wild boar kind of guy.
‘Rotel Himmel’Berlin Film Festival
The car will have to stay where it is.
Felix (Langston Uibel) knows a shortcut through the woods.
When they reach the house, however, they find it obviously already occupied by someone else.
Someone who leaves dirty dishes and food on every available surface.
Leon is a writer.
He doesnt do boar; he doesnt do flies.
The interloper evidently is a woman; Felixs mother forgot to tell them about her.
Leon is by now mutinously out of sorts.
He resorts to sleeping outside.
Meanwhile, he anxiously anticipates the arrival of his publisher to discuss the new manuscript he has just finished.
His editor, Helmut (Matthias Brandt), has described Leons writing as exciting and promising.
Its obvious to Leon that he hates it.
Sirens blare intermittently; helicopters fly overhead with water bombs, momentarily drowning out the insect buzz.
Between choppers, however, the house feels untouchable, even when ash rains on the lawn.
Devid helps Felix fix the roof.
Seeing problems and fixing them is what these men do.
Nadja also proves she can jump in response to a crisis.
A series of set pieces dig gently but precisely at Leons little weaknesses.
Schubert is such a sympathetic actor that we side with him even when he is exasperating.
Devids dinner anecdote was, in fact, both tedious and tasteless.
The insects are quite irritating, even on the soundtrack.
The garden is bathed in sunshine, the wine flows.
Isnt that what were all expecting?
Petzolds droll divertissement is a fable for our times.
