Toni Erdmann (2016) (German Language)

Review

162min

Genre:      Comedy, Drama

Director:   Maren Ade

Cast:        Sandra Hüller, Peter Simonischek, Michael Wittenborn… more

Writer:     Maren Ade

-Synopsis-

In a bid to reconnect with his estranged and successful business executive daughter; a self-styled German man travels across Europe and employs his bizarre tactics to try and reach his motivated but detached progeny in this offbeat but touching German screwball comedy/drama.

Despite the lingering stereotypes and undeserved reputation about their supposedly absent sense of humour, a quick look back at German and Northern European TV and film over the last several decades would clearly show a gift for a unique and often bizarre comedic sensibility, from German films like ‘Der Bunker’ and ‘A Friend of Mine’ to last year’s surreal Danish comedy/drama ‘Men &Chicken’. Now writer/director Maren Ade can add her incomparable effort to the list, in what is a wholly unique and often surreal but tender comedy/drama about father/daughter relationships and the importance of experiencing life before it gets past you.

Peter Simonischek  stars as ‘Winfried Conradi’, a quirky and impulsive German prankster in his twilight years, who will slip in grotesque false teeth and transform into his irrepressible alter-ego ‘Toni Erdmann’ at the drop of a hat. When personal tragedy strikes, ‘Winfried’ decides to visit his oil industry executive daughter ‘Ines’ (Sandra Hüller) in Romania, but soon finds that his little girl has become ambitious and obsessed with pleasing clients and her career progression, at the expense of meaningful relationships or any real joy in life. Cue ‘Toni’ who is unleashed and infiltrates her life, often in inappropriate circumstances, trying to rekindle a connection between father and daughter.

To say that ‘Toni Erdmann’ is a wacky film would be an understatement, there’s plenty of deadpan humour and social awkwardness all around, which eventually graduates to surrealism and more full-frontal nudity than we’re used to in mainstream cinema. But this isn’t exactly a laugh-fest either and on balance proves to be more of a drama, with Ade taking plenty of the film’s extensive two-and-three-quarter hour runtime to build the character dynamics and layer-in their idiosyncrasies, before upping the bizarre ante, so it might be a disappointment to those looking for conventional comedy or a healthy laugh-per-minute ratio.

Ade’s effort is very much a minimalist Euro Indie film, with no real score to speak of and only a slight hint of a soundtrack, in fact there’s barely a soundscape at all… apart from an unexpectedly hilarious and poignant in-film performance. Without much extravagance or comedic bells & whistles and no real melodrama, this is a German film after all, ‘Toni Erdmann’ is a relatively still comedy/drama which takes its time to unfold over a long runtime, something  which its few detractors have heavily criticised and which may be an issue for some audiences.

But despite the director’s tendency to linger in scenes which contribute to a duration just shy of three hours, the film never really drags or feels overlong, and the time plus the narrative simplicity gives Ade the chance to properly flesh out her characters and the relationship dynamics between them in the clear light of ultra-realism… while throwing in plenty of absurd behaviour to spice things up of course.

The film manages to be droll, dry, satirical and deliberately cringeworthy at times, while simultaneously introspective, bittersweet and slightly tragic at others, all the while exploring office politics and gender power struggles. It also boasts a social conscience, with something to say about the human cost of modernisation and job outsourcing, versus the corporate need for it in an increasingly competitive and cutthroat globalised economy.

Most importantly though is the central father/daughter story, a frank and hilariously realised relationship with plenty of poignancy, between two real and flawed people who butt heads and struggle to understand each other, but do so with deep-felt love which never has to be overemphasised in melodramatic Hollywood style. Ultimately this is an unconventional and highly original tale about the lengths to which parents will go to make children happy, the redemptive power of laughter, and what really matters in life.

The Bottom Line…

Unpredictable, heartfelt & hilarious with plenty of space in-between to breathe, Maren Ade’s concoction of social commentary and character dissection is a perfect example of what independent and foreign film does so differently… and so well. Sandra Hüller and Peter Simonischek’s utterly believable central performances range from understated to gloriously absurd, providing a strong beating heart to this idiosyncratic and borderline surreal comedic father/daughter relationship drama, which thankfully strays about as far from Hollywood convention as you’ll get.

Similar films you may like (Home Video)

Men & Chicken (2015) (Danish Language)

When their father reveals the truth about their parentage on his deathbed; a pair of misfit brothers travel to a remote Danish island to unravel the mystery of their origins, only to encounter their grotesque trio of half-brothers and get drawn into a peculiar family reunion in this absurdist black comedy from Danish writer/director Anders Thomas Jensen.

Directed by Anders Thomas Jensen and starring Mads Mikkelsen, David Dencik and Nikolaj Lie Kaas among others.

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