Wir Konnten genauso gut tot sein
We Might As Well Be Dead
***
Germany | Romania 2022 Opened Sept . 29 , 2022 93 minutes
Directed by Natalia Sinelnikova Writing credits : Viktor Gallandi , Natalia Sinelnikova Principal actors : Ioana Iacob , Pola Geiger , Jörg Schüttauf , Siir Eloglu , Moritz Jahn , Susanne Wuest
Anna ( Ioana Iacob ) and her 16-year-old daughter , Iris ( Pola Geiger ), live in a huge apartment house isolated from the city and near a forest . It is surrounded by a golf course and playing fields , all protected by a tall fence . The residents have only each other with no contact to the rest of the insecure world . Anna is responsible for interviewing future occupants who wish to move in . Gerti ( Jörg Schüttauf ) is the janitor . The poet , Wolfram ( Moritz Jan ), lives in the basement and tries to sell his poems to people as they ride the elevator . Things change when Gerti ’ s dog disappears . Fear quickly filters into all corners of the house as people suspect a murderer nearby . Anna sets off to find the dog . Iris locks herself in the bathroom , where she stays until the end of the film . She thinks she has mysterious powers which have led to the dog ’ s absence . Frank Drescher , supported by his wife , Erika , organizes a committee to investigate Anna , whose leadership seems irresponsible . Also , Anna and Iris are immigrants , who strive to be accepted by the group .
Here we must seriously consider : where does fear lead ? What is the role of community ? The Phoebus Apartment House seems to be an actor in its own right : tall , with beautiful , frequently used , staircases . It shelters a group seeking privacy from the world , although there is little privacy inside , with TV screens showing the daily lives inside every apartment . There is very little background music , and when music does set in , it is often just two notes plunking back and forth . This German film showed at festivals , including the 2022 Berlinale , where it opened the section “ Perspektive Deutsches Kino ,” and the 2022 Tribeca Film Festival , where it won best cinematography in an international narrative feature . It is the first full-length film by Natalia Sinelnikova and , as an arthouse film , works better in festivals than as entertainment , as it is repetitive , despite being just over 93 minutes . ( Becky Tan )
www . awchamburg . org 35