Germany 2023
Opening April 13, 2023
Directed by: Emily Atef
Writing credits: Emily Atef and Daniela Krien
Principal actors: Marlene Burow, Felix Kramer, Cedric Eich, Jördis Triebel, Silke Bodenbender, Christine Schorn
It’s 1990, one year after the reunification of Germany and we are in Thüringen in former East Germany. Maria (Marlene Burow), age 18, is a house guest on the Brendel farm owned by Siegfried (Florian Panzner). He supports his wife, his mother and two sons including 18-year-old Johannes. Maria has taken up this residence in order to complete schooling. However, she skips lessons and stays home reading books non-stop. Johannes is also finishing school and plans to study photography in Leipzig. He is smitten with Maria and attempts to gain her attention. Maria, however, has long become enamored with Henner (Felix Kramer), the farmer next door. This is difficult as Henner is twice as old and uninterested in a serious relationship, having always lived alone with his two dogs. Maria occasionally visits her mother Marianne (Silke Bodenbender) who still lives with her mother-in-law, although she has divorced her husband, i.e., Maria’s father. Hartmut (Christian Erdmann), the brother of Siegfried, lives in Munich. Now that Germany is no longer divided, he announces his plans to cross over to Thüringen for a family visit, with his wife and children.
The film title translates to “Someday We’ll Tell Each Other Everything.” It is based on a book of the same title by Daniela Krien. The five-minute plot moves slowly along 129 minutes, with a minimum of background music. One must concentrate on the various characters. This can be frustrating, but it also gives the viewer a chance to predict events step by step until the ending (which I did not guess). The film’s value rests on beautiful leading actress Marlene Burow, who, at age 23, stands at the beginning of a film career which can only continue to be successful. We enjoy stupendous photography of the environment, e.g., fields and lakes. Irgendwann werden wir uns alles erzählen premiered at the 2023 Berlinale. ()