People Next Door 2016 / Renn, wenn du kannst / Germany 2010
Any friendship between a woman and two men almost always smacks of rivalry. But can the duel for the lady’s favor be a fair one when Ben is bound to a wheelchair and Christian is his new assistant? A mild tragicomedy from familiar Karlovy Vary guest Dietrich Brüggemann on the essence of true friendship and love.
How many days has Ben spent watching Annika from the balcony of his prefab apartment? Bitter and angry at the world, he drifts in resignation through days enlivened only by humiliating the assistants the community service agency began sending him after he ended up in a wheelchair. But when the carefree Christian becomes his latest right hand, their newfound adventures cast Ben’s life in a rosier hue. But what if their ensuing mutual attachment to Annika becomes a test of the friendship they have gained? In his second feature motion picture, Dietrich Brüggemann calls on the (admittedly) well-used love triangle shtick, but he does so with finesse and a punk-like chutzpah that updates the familiar model. The story’s brisk pace alternates dynamic action with poetic moments, the mood of the film fluidly shifting from humorous to thoughtful while the hesitant protagonists attempt to figure out what they really want. But first they have to find their place and be there for each other.
Sandra Hezinová
116 min / Color, 35 mm
Director Dietrich Brüggemann
/ Screenplay Anna Brüggemann, Dietrich Brüggemann
/ Dir. of Photography Alexander Sass
/ Music Dietrich Brüggemann
/ Editor Vincent Assmann
/ Art Director Christiane Krumwiede
/ Producer Michael André, Dominik Brückner, Stefanie Groß, Barbara Häbe, Stefan Schubert, Ralph Schwingel
/ Production Südwestrundfunk, Westdeutscher Rundfunk, Wüste Film Ost, Wüste Film West, arte Geie
/ Cast Robert Gwisdek, Jacob Matschenz, Anna Brüggemann
/ Contact Wüste Film GmbH
Dietrich Brüggemann (b. 1976, Munich) grew up in Germany and South Africa. He studied at the Film University Babelsberg (2000-2006) where he began making shorts (Warum läuft Herr V. Amok?, 2003; Die Schwestern von Schloß Rosensteig, 2004) as well as features (Neun Szenen, 2006; 3 Zimmer/Küche/Bad, 2012). Since 1997 he has also taken an interest in photography, music, and writing, and has been engaged making music videos and accompanying silent movies on the piano. Stations of the Cross (Kreuzweg, 2014), for which he and his sister Anna Brüggemann received a Silver Bear for Best Script at the Berlinale, was greeted with accolades at KVIFF 49. A year later Heil was selected for the main competition at Karlovy Vary.
Wüste Film GmbH
Schulterblatt 58, D-20357, Hamburg
Germany
Phone: +49 404 317 060
E-mail: [email protected]
Dietrich Brüggemann
Film Director
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