Brand

Brand (Josef Bierbichler) is a famous writer. But the time of the really big successes is over. Because since his wife (Erika Deutinger) has fallen seriously ill, he can no longer write. Instead, he records his wife's death throes with a camera, in an effort to turn it into a photo diary. During his constant visits to the hospital, he meets the young nurse Angela (Angela Gregovic) and is immediately fascinated by the attractive and mysterious woman. Despite the enormous age difference and although both are married, Brand and Angela begin a passionate affair. But when Angela's Turkish-born husband (Denis Moschitto), a particularly jealous policeman, gets wise to his wife's immoral goings-on, not only Brand but also his wife are drawn into a destructive vortex that can bring no one a happy ending.

After his successful biopic Falco - Verdammt, wir leben noch, whose leading actor Manuel Rubey can be seen here again in a small role, director Thomas Roth follows up with Brand an arthouse thriller of the minimalist variety. The film tells the story of a forbidden passion in dreary images and, especially at the beginning, rather taciturnly. Against the personal as well as the socio-political background of the protagonists, the story seems to become more and more hopeless and dramatic with every minute. With the first glances, the first clandestine meeting and finally the first touches, Brand and Angela set off an avalanche that threatens to bury everything and everyone in their immediate environment.

While Josef Bierbichler (The Bone Man) delivers a very effective, rather restrained performance, Angela Gregovic radiates an almost mysterious sensuality that makes it palpable why Brand is so attracted to the young woman. But Denis Moschitto is also convincing, frighteningly good as a jealous policeman who sometimes uses his professional opportunities to make life difficult for his wife and his rival.

Brand is an interesting, intriguingly photographed and convincingly acted film. However, it is also at times arguably unwieldy in its storytelling, making the story and its characters rather difficult to access for a wider audience. Especially the beginning is staged extremely worn and it takes a bit too long until the story gets going and it becomes clear what Thomas Roth is trying to achieve. Surely, the balancing act between thriller-drama and auteur film is quite successful for Roth. But the mixing of elements from both subjects also feels a bit indecisive at times, which robs the film of the power that should actually hit the viewer with full force, especially in the last third.

For arthouse cinema lovers, Brand certainly has some very successful aspects to offer. As a romantic drama, a thriller or a film about aging and dying, the work brings quite a few strong moments. But all in all it lacks that certain something that would justify going to the cinema. Therefore: only for fans of the German-speaking arthouse cinema with deductions worth seeing!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp