Werk ohne Autor (Never Look Away) (2018)

I wanted to go and see "Shazam!" this week, but I kept postponing from one day to the other until I failed reaching the cinema. Maybe it was a good thing. Because I got to see "Werk ohne Autor" aka "Never Look Away" instead.

The movie lasts 3 hours. I watched it in two sessions, because I didn't know what to expect. I would recommend though to try this in one piece. It doesn't make you check your watch, but the second half is much more... let's say calm, compared to the first part. And it's probably meant to be that way. The story starts sometime around 1937, in Eastern Germany, close to Dresden, and follows up the life of a young painter since he's 5 years old up to around the time he gets to 30. The first part that gets through the Nazi period and the war is pretty hard to watch. Not in the sense of bullets and blood, but for the drama and despair (no irony there). I don't want to reveal much more besides the trailer, because it will reduce the effect the movie will have on you. All I can say is that we see the young Kurt Barnert surviving the war, starting an artistic career under the communist regime in DDR, marrying the daughter of his arch-enemy (who he doesn't know he's his arch-enemy), illegally escaping to the West and resuming his studies there, and finally apparently finding success as a painter. Trust me, I didn't tell you anything. Watch the movie.

It's the third movie directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, after "Das Leben der Anderen" and (the less fortunate) "The Tourist". For who has seen the first, probably it doesn't need other recommendation than saying that we have a comeback after the second. You can feel the same vibe here. There are though some differences. I'll start with what's less important, although it is... the camera work (Caleb Deschanel) is excellent, same for the score, and for the casting (where we have common names with "Das Leben der Anderen", but still I think this one's a bit better). More significant it's the message sent. As far as I remember "Das Leben der Anderen" didn't end that well, but it had a sort of a... closure, wrap up, whatever. Here the ending is more open (and again I didn't say anything). For this, subjectively, I'd vote for "Das Leben der Anderen". On the other hand, there are some things in the movie we have here, you don't get until the end credits start rolling. Like the fact that it's actually much more deep (or your mind is gone... either might work). For instance, until the last 3 minutes I thought that the marketing title in English fits better for what happened there than the German original one. It's actually more catchy "never look away" than "work without author" :) Until the last 3 minutes, when you can give an interpretation for all you've watched - life in general - as a "work" which in the ending stage... it doesn't really have an author :) Maybe a bit of karma. But that you don't see. It's just there for some paybacks you might not even know about. I still didn't say anything ;) Watch the movie.

Rating: 4 out of 5 ( I'm subjective - multiple reasons - probably deserves much more :) )