360

A man who, on a business trip, resists the temptation to cheat on his wife with a prostitute. An aging man who, in a desperate search for his daughter in Phoenix, America, befriends a young woman whose broken heart leads her from London back to her native Brazil. A widower wrestling with intense feelings for his married employee in Paris. A lonely wife experiencing an affair with a much younger man in London. A convicted sex offender who struggles with his worst demons on his way to a halfway house. And a Slovakian escort who hopes for the really big money in Vienna. Different stories in different places in this world - but even if the people involved don't know it, their fates are closely intertwined and the decisions of one have a major impact on the life of the other - until the circle closes again at the end.

With 360, Oscar-nominated filmmaker Fernando Meirelles (City of God) has created a very ambitious ensemble film that, while it has great emotional power, is intriguing in a very special way because of the clever way the individual stories are connected to each other. However, despite the inherently top-notch production, this drama also suffers from the aspects where most episodic films struggle with weaknesses. First and foremost is the fact that, because relatively little time can be devoted to each individual character, some of the characters aren't given the depth they actually deserve. In addition, some of the stories seem much more intense than others, but this is also due to the fact that they can be told only superficially in the short time.

So, for example, the plot line around the British businessman Michael (Jude Law) and his wife Rose (Rachel Weisz) probably suffers most intensely, this part of the film seems somewhat trivial in itself. It is only in the overall context, which admittedly only becomes apparent to the viewer at the end, that even this story can reveal its true meaning and importance to the film.

Another problem the film may struggle with for some viewers is the fact that not all of the stories are brought to an equal conclusion. While there is a fairly obvious conclusion to some storylines, others require the viewer to stretch their imagination. But again, it's worth looking at the big picture, which draws its real power precisely from the fact that it reveals only a brief glimpse into the various lives.

360 is not necessarily light fare. The viewer is challenged throughout the complex and convoluted narrative to stay on the ball until the end, which is not necessarily easy for the very reasons already mentioned. But those who manage to wait until Meirelles perfectly completes his 360 degree turn with the final scene will be rewarded with a strongly acted ensemble drama that has a lasting impact, though one that will only be felt after thinking about what has been seen for a while. For lovers of more sophisticated arthouse dramas, however, the whole thing is well: worth seeing!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp