I'M THE FATHER A film review by Steve Rhodes Copyright 2003 Steve Rhodes RATING (0 TO ****): *** 1/2
Like a single loose thread on a beautiful but well-worn sweater, the love between Marco and Melanie Krieger (Sebastian Blomberg and Maria Schrader) is slowly unraveling, which affects more than their lives. They also have their sweet six-year-old son Benny (Ezra-Valentin Lenz) to consider.
Dani Levy's gripping I'M THE FATHER (VÄTER) steals your heart in scene after scene, without a single overacted moment in the entire production. The script is masterful at making sharp right turns when we're sure gentle lefts are on the way -- and vice versa. The characters are believable and sympathetic even if they do make some stupid mistakes. You'll be constantly on the edge of your seat worrying about them.
When the story starts, Marco is a very busy, up-and-coming architect, working on his first big project. When he comes home to announce his project's approval, Melanie gets miffed at him for forgetting to pick up Benny's medicine, but, when Marco and Melanie go to bed that night, their marriage seems unbreakable. "Nothing is sexier than success," Marco brags with a big, loving smile before he jumps into bed like a kid on a trampoline.
Marco's company expects superhuman effort from him, which partially explains the reason why he drinks too much and why he doesn't spend as much time with Benny as he would like. But, when he is able to be with his son, their relationship is magical. Melanie, on the other hand, is a good and doting mother who has too little time for her non-maternal interests. These conflicts, as they sometimes do, come to a boil when neither party thinks there is currently any heat on the marital stove.
Like a tornado that drops down from nowhere, Marco and Melanie find themselves with divorce lawyers and custody battles. (Appropriately, their last name means war in German.) "Marriages are communal decisions," Marco's lawyer instructs him, "divorces individual." Assuming the movie is accurate, the German legal system is clearly biased in favor of the mother's rights over those of the father. Further complicating everything is that Marco and Melanie, at separate times, decide that they would really like to get back together. At other separate times, they decide they'd each like to crush the other spouse. And to add just one more complication, Ilona (Christiane Paul), Marco's very attractive coworker, seems ready, willing and able to lend a shoulder for him to cry on, which may lead to something more.
It isn't obvious where the story is headed. This much is certain -- your heart will be there until the ending credits roll.
I'M THE FATHER runs 1:42. The film is in German with English subtitles. It is not rated but would be a PG-13 for some language and mature themes and would be acceptable for teenagers.
The film is being shown as part of San Jose's Cinequest Film Festival (www.Cinequest.org), which runs February 27 to March 9, 2003.
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