actual title - die frau hinter der wand - german film
opening night at the current 4 day german film festival
brimming with atmosphere and a creepy sense of dread
so reads the program - the festival rules kick in - just do it
martin is a first year law student newly arrived in berlin
seen sleeping in his car and then queuing up for a vacancy
misses the cut and as he is walking away a voice beckons
a disheveled janitor appears hauling a portable oxygen unit
he leads martin up to the inspection of an abandoned apartment
seems the previous tenant robert has suddenly disappeared
martin is desperate for some digs so eagerly applies on the spot
this involves stripping to the waist for a photo for the landlady
she lives behind the wall dividing the once larger apartment
the photo is sent and within seconds a call of approval
he moves straight in and starts the cleanup process
and uncovers some curiosities - a hidden room, a diary
a hole in the wall and a stethoscope which martin uses
thus he becomes a voyeur to the pleasures of his landlady
the naivety of martin reinforced with calls from his parents
there's a random phone number etched on a desk that he calls
the phone then rings in a lower apartment across the street
some strange domestic activity there also and gazes returned
he also receives a call from landlady simone inviting him to visit
on the pretence of signing the tenancy agreement - now - why not?
she of course is as raunchy as he is naive and seduction is instant
interrupted by the arrival of boyfriend sebastian - the lower neighbour
they manage to hide their tryst though he is menacingly suspicious
the scene is set - the characters are introduced and the ride begins
he sees simone in a supermarket - here very sweet and apologetic
schizophrenia very clearly suggested - but too late - he is taken
dinner is arranged and another drug-fueled encounter follows
the director then indulging in some trippy white-out scenes
with the effect then of paying more attention to the detail
actually very good - camera angles, etc carefully selected
all adding to the stated creeping sense of dread of the film
martin standing in a blocked shower of blood-coloured water
the shower scene from psycho referenced with a shadowy visitor
but phew - just the janitor - but the tension now ratcheted up
robert makes a sudden appearance back from a trip to india
a violent confrontation and then he is strangely gone again
similarly sebastian who tires of simones unfaithfulness
leaving martin and simone to continue with their liaisons
but she is a sick puppy - and he is in love and entrapped
he stumbles on another secret room in her own apartment
the horrific discovery of sebastian's body hung in a sling
this then kick-starts the final frantic and bloody scenes
she armed with a large knife and going room to room
the knife plunged into martin's shoulder - me squirming
more so when he grabs it and returns the favour twice over
possibly the most graphic bloody scenes of violence seen by me
a sense of it being very realistic - and sad too - she dies in his arms
final scene - ma and pa show up looking for their errant son
he - glasses lost, blood-splattered and looking in shock
a serious transition from the naive boy they knew
what a cracker - so well done - so many themes
sex, drugs, violence, mental illness, loneliness
etc, etc, etc - it's going to reverberate well...
