***TOTAL SPOILERS AHEAD***
I think the premise of this movie was supposed to be: A married man dies, and his male German lover, seeking to remain close to his beloved, spends time with the dead man's wife and young son. He even goes so far, when seduced by the wife, as to have sex with her, and in the manner that the dead husband had once described to him. But everything is shattered when the wife learns who the German is: the lover of her late husband, who had been about move to Berlin "to be with someone else".
That could have been an interesting story. What is the impact of losing someone you love deeply and can't forget, so that you take extreme measures to feel "connected" to that person again? What is the impact of betrayal by a seeming new friend and love interest? How do the two impacted parties reconcile all that has happened?
But unfortunately, that is not the story we got, IMO.
Instead, a married businessman--an Israeli who spends time regularly in Berlin--dies, and his male German lover goes to Israel to seek out the dead man's wife, though his motivations are murky, which by the way is a characteristic of this movie. Murkiness. Lack of clarity as to what motivates the characters and why they do or say certain things. So I just assume the German, a baker named Thomas, wants to see where his beloved used to live, see the wife and son he sometimes talked about, and feel connected to the man he loved and still misses. But you'll have to assume that for yourself, since the movie is not going to tell you.
Thomas ends up working in the wife's new cafe, and they eventually have a rather uninspiring sexual encounter. While Thomas does think about the dead husband during the act, it's not clear if he really enjoys the encounter or if it is cathartic for him in any way. This could have been a great opportunity for us to see Thomas struggle as he asks himself "Do I really want to go this far to stay connected to my beloved? Is this who I really am?" Instead, the encounter is just another event that comes and goes, with no real character development attached to it.
(Oh, and for some reason, during this time period, the cafe's "certified Kosher" designation is take away, even though the wife is taking pains to do nothing that would put the cafe at such risk, from what I see. But that story line seems to go nowhere and I cannot explain its significance, other than maybe it was just a plot device to ratchet up the tension.)
The wife subsequently finds out that the person her husband was going to leave her for--yes, we learn that he was going to leave her for someone else, had it not been for the fatal car accident--is this very man!
Thomas is told that she wants nothing more to do with him, so he heads back to Berlin and his bakery. In the closing shots, it is three months later, and the wife goes to Berlin to see the bakery. She arrives in time to watch Thomas bike away. A small smile appears on her face. End of movie. Whatever.
What was the point of this movie? Did we truly explore the impact the husband/lover's death had had on these people?
No. Instead, what we mainly have are a lot of extended shots/poses of characters looking off in a soulful, or bemused, or thoughtful, or sad, or other inscrutable manner. Or shots of dough being kneaded, cookies being decorated, etc. For long stretches of time. So long that I barely made it past the 40-minute mark in this film, but thanks to fast forwarding, I was able to increase the pace of the film to an acceptable level. Judicious editing would have shaved off 15 minutes and improved the pacing.
Anyway, I think these "tableaux" were supposed to take the place of actual story or character development. God forbid the director should tell us what these characters are actually thinking and what they are really feeling and whether they are experiencing any struggle or turmoil. In large part, it is left to us to intuit their thoughts and motivations.
The only really compelling scene for me was the one where Thomas overwhelmed by all that has happened, has an emotional breakdown. That was well done. But we were cheated out of the inevitable and much-needed confrontation between Thomas and the wife.
To sum up, I just don't think this film went anywhere interesting. We don't learn much about these people, and we never quite understand their motivations. (Case in point: the dead man's mother-in law.) So at the end I just shrugged my shoulders and moved on.
I think the premise of this movie was supposed to be: A married man dies, and his male German lover, seeking to remain close to his beloved, spends time with the dead man's wife and young son. He even goes so far, when seduced by the wife, as to have sex with her, and in the manner that the dead husband had once described to him. But everything is shattered when the wife learns who the German is: the lover of her late husband, who had been about move to Berlin "to be with someone else".
That could have been an interesting story. What is the impact of losing someone you love deeply and can't forget, so that you take extreme measures to feel "connected" to that person again? What is the impact of betrayal by a seeming new friend and love interest? How do the two impacted parties reconcile all that has happened?
But unfortunately, that is not the story we got, IMO.
Instead, a married businessman--an Israeli who spends time regularly in Berlin--dies, and his male German lover goes to Israel to seek out the dead man's wife, though his motivations are murky, which by the way is a characteristic of this movie. Murkiness. Lack of clarity as to what motivates the characters and why they do or say certain things. So I just assume the German, a baker named Thomas, wants to see where his beloved used to live, see the wife and son he sometimes talked about, and feel connected to the man he loved and still misses. But you'll have to assume that for yourself, since the movie is not going to tell you.
Thomas ends up working in the wife's new cafe, and they eventually have a rather uninspiring sexual encounter. While Thomas does think about the dead husband during the act, it's not clear if he really enjoys the encounter or if it is cathartic for him in any way. This could have been a great opportunity for us to see Thomas struggle as he asks himself "Do I really want to go this far to stay connected to my beloved? Is this who I really am?" Instead, the encounter is just another event that comes and goes, with no real character development attached to it.
(Oh, and for some reason, during this time period, the cafe's "certified Kosher" designation is take away, even though the wife is taking pains to do nothing that would put the cafe at such risk, from what I see. But that story line seems to go nowhere and I cannot explain its significance, other than maybe it was just a plot device to ratchet up the tension.)
The wife subsequently finds out that the person her husband was going to leave her for--yes, we learn that he was going to leave her for someone else, had it not been for the fatal car accident--is this very man!
Thomas is told that she wants nothing more to do with him, so he heads back to Berlin and his bakery. In the closing shots, it is three months later, and the wife goes to Berlin to see the bakery. She arrives in time to watch Thomas bike away. A small smile appears on her face. End of movie. Whatever.
What was the point of this movie? Did we truly explore the impact the husband/lover's death had had on these people?
No. Instead, what we mainly have are a lot of extended shots/poses of characters looking off in a soulful, or bemused, or thoughtful, or sad, or other inscrutable manner. Or shots of dough being kneaded, cookies being decorated, etc. For long stretches of time. So long that I barely made it past the 40-minute mark in this film, but thanks to fast forwarding, I was able to increase the pace of the film to an acceptable level. Judicious editing would have shaved off 15 minutes and improved the pacing.
Anyway, I think these "tableaux" were supposed to take the place of actual story or character development. God forbid the director should tell us what these characters are actually thinking and what they are really feeling and whether they are experiencing any struggle or turmoil. In large part, it is left to us to intuit their thoughts and motivations.
The only really compelling scene for me was the one where Thomas overwhelmed by all that has happened, has an emotional breakdown. That was well done. But we were cheated out of the inevitable and much-needed confrontation between Thomas and the wife.
To sum up, I just don't think this film went anywhere interesting. We don't learn much about these people, and we never quite understand their motivations. (Case in point: the dead man's mother-in law.) So at the end I just shrugged my shoulders and moved on.