UNDINE

 

After creating the WWII masterpiece that was “Phoenix” back in 2014, director Christian Petzold for all intents and purposes has a free pass in my eyes, in regards to his future work. This doesn't mean that I am going to blindly love everything he does or did from there on out, rather that I would always be anticipating whatever film he does make next, even if it is just to see if he can match the greatness of “Phoenix”. As luck would have it, I was one of the very few people who found his follow up, 2018's “Transit”, to be a massive disappointment. That said, it was still a technically very well made film, and once again, I was looking forward to what would come next from Petzold. Then in 2019, it was announced that he was working on a trilogy of stories that would be based on lesser known fairytales, and that the first was to be “Undine”. If I already wasn't anticipating Petzold's next film enough, having it being based on a fairytale certainly pushed it over the edge, and “Undine” made my list of most anticipated films of 2020. While 2020 turned out to be the year from hell, “Undine” was one of the lucky films to actually be completed and have a screening before the industry essentially shut down. It premiered at the Berlin Film Festival where it was met with middling reviews (despite the fact that Paula Beer came away with the Silver Lion for Best Actress for her work in the film), and word escaped that the fairytale elements weren't as prominent as I was hoping for, which was mainly due to the fact that “Undine” is set in the present. As such, my expectations tempered a little, but I think this worked to my advantage as I ended up loving this beautiful tale of love and loss.

“Undine” is based on a German fairytale novella of the same name that was written by Friedrich de la Motte Fouque and published in 1811. In the novella, a water nymph marries a knight so she can gain a human soul. However legend states that if this man is ever to betray her, she must then kill the man and return to her watery home, never to return again. Christian Petzold's version of the story is set in modern day Berlin where Undine works as a historian lecturing on the city's past, origins and urban developments through time. When we first enter the story, Undine is in the middle of a break up with Johannes, the love of her life. She is distraught, upset and very emotional and warns Johannes that if he leaves her, she will be forced to kill him. Due to give one of her talks in minutes, Undine demands Johannes to wait the half an hour until she is done, and if he is still waiting for her at the cafe, all will be fine. However when she returns, Johannes is gone. Undine is beside herself, as she hears a mysterious calling in her mind. While searching for Johannes, Undine meets with Christoph, a man who works as a deep sea diver, and who was a guest at her recent talk. Realising he has interrupted and upset the young woman, Christoph backs out of the cafe to give her space, and in doing so, accidentally knocks over a massive aquarium that shatters over both him and Undine. This moment is the catalyst that sees these two fall head over heels for one another, and may also lift the curse that hangs over Undine's head.

This is such a beautiful romantic story, with the fairytale elements often only hinted at, but they are still most definitely present within the film. While personally, I usually like my fairytales to go all out in their beauty and fantasy elements, I am happy to say that the way Petzold has transposed this story to modern day Berlin works wonderfully well. The romance between Undine and Christoph is the main meat of the story here, but the skeleton of the fairytale is woven beautifully throughout. The love story itself though just feels so real and true. These are two people that actually really love one another for who they are, what they are interested in, and what they do for a living. This isn't about lust or sex, this is a true love where both Undine and Christoph love each other fully. There is a great scene when Undine is practising one of her talks, and Christoph asks her to practise on him. She warns him that it is boring and very dry, and she is true to her word, but the way that Christoph stares at her throughout it, it is like he is mesmerised be her words. He is totally entranced by her in this moment, due to his love for her. This is a first for Undine this type of love, because when a similar moment happens earlier with her (now ex-) boyfriend Johannes, he is more dismissive of her work, cutting her off and telling her about a hotel room he has booked for the two of them. The same is true with Undine of Christoph's work, as he also takes her underwater to show her “his” world. This scene leads to one of the most surreal moments within the film as Undine loses consciousness whilst underwater and then being saved by a giant catfish. Apparently in the original fairytale, if Undine ever re-visits her world, she will then be unable to return to Earth, however in this version of the tale, Christoph brings her back via CPR (whilst singing to the tune of “Staying Alive”) and their bond grows stronger still. In regards to their work, I must say that I loved the irony that Petzold infused here in having a water creature work on land, whilst the land creature works underwater, so while the two get increasingly closer, there is still a tiny chasm between them. To portray the lovers of his film, Petzold turned to the stars of his previous film, Paula Beer and Franz Rogowski, and they are both wonderful in their roles. In my review for “Transit”, I lament the fact that Rogowski and Beer's chemistry was almost non-existent, but that is certainly not the case in “Undine”. I'm not sure if it was the familiarity of working with someone they knew, but Beer and Rogowski have chemistry to burn here, and they are totally believable as a couple falling deeply and madly in love with one another, whilst filled with absolute respect for the other. Both actors have incredible energy in “Undine”, and are often beaming with happiness. However, that is not to say that their love affair is without struggle or sadness, but both Beer and Rogowski also are excellent at portraying their pain and depth of feeling and worry for their loved one.

Like all of Christian Petzold's films, “Undine” has been handsomely put together. Petzold has a core group of collaborators that he uses on each film and after so many films together, it must be just second nature as all of his films are expertly made. Hans Fromm, as usual, is tasked with cinematography duties and he has given “Undine” a glossy look that feels very warm and inviting. With water playing a large part within the story, the use of water imagery is very nicely done without ever feeling overdone, and I loved that large portions of the film were obviously shot underwater, and those scenes looked beautiful and otherworldly. The key set piece of the film, the aquarium shattering, has been filmed with such style, with the explosion of water and aquarium decorum (not to mention some poor fish) covering the actors, that gives the scene a sense of wonder and whimsy, perfect as the catalyst for this fairytale romance. Bettina Bohler edits the film to give it a nice leisurely pace, without it ever feeling slow and she does a great job of combining the real and fantasy elements so they feel true and that they naturally co-exist in this world Petzold has created. Speaking of Petzold, it goes without saying that his direction is exemplary and I feel that he has done a much better job here at transposing a story set for another time and setting it in the present, than he did with his previous film “Transit”. While I had massive issues with that story's WWII elements being set in the present, it just works so well in regards to this old fairytale. However, elements of “Transit” have still bled into “Undine” as Petzold once again looks at how the past can influence the present, and whether or not we, as a society, can move forward and evolve without coming to terms with and accepting our past.

Overall, Christian Petzold's “Undine” is just a lovely film. Whilst I usually like my fairytale films to embrace the fantasy elements head on, the light touches of fantastique works perfectly in the real world tale that Petzold is telling. It leans just enough into the magic and fantasy for the film to be read in two ways: either as a real world story with allusions to the fairytale, or a fairytale story with characters set in the real world. I actually like the fairytale reading of the story, and think it adds an extra poignancy to it, especially during its finale. The film is anchored by two fantastic performances from Paula Beer and Franz Rogowski (who both ooze chemistry), and the music (which I failed to mention) is just lovely and adds to the mystery and atmosphere of this beautiful film. It goes without saying that I am looking forward to the following two films in Christian Petzold's fairytale trilogy. He has already stated that the next film is titled “The Red Sky” and involves a homosexual love affair, so while I am not sure which fairytale this will be based on, I will definitely be looking forward to it. He has started this trilogy off perfectly with “Undine”.

 

4 Stars.