| review: Agnes und seine Brüder (Agnes and His Brothers) |
|
|
| Written by Boyd van Hoeij | |
| Friday, 29 April 2005 | |
|
Just have a look at the title Agnes und seine Brüder (Agnes and His Brothers). Is there anything that strikes you as odd? Perhaps the fact that the female name "Agnes" nevertheless has a masculine possessive pronoun ("his")? Or has this become so acceptable (if that is the right word) that you did not think this was extraordinary? In the world of the film itself, the fact that Agnes "after the operation" is still one of the Tschirner brothers is not a problem for any of the characters. This is in no way an indication, however, that Agnes and his two brothers are leading anything resembling a happy life. Agnes und seine Brüder is not a comedy, but the dramatic story of a dysfunctional family and how they pass on their problems in their respective new families. What is intriguing about the film directed by Oskar Roehler (Suck My Dick) is that it stubbornly fixes itself on the problems of today, not on the possible causes of the problems in the past. Agnes Tschirner (newcomer Martin Weiß) makes his money dancing at a club, though he has problems with his boyfriend who would like him to be more at home (unlike Agnes he has a daytime job) and cook for and sleep with him. Agnes’s big brother Werner (Herbert Knaup, Lichter) has grown apart from his partner (Katja Riemann, Rosenstrasse) as well, absorbed as is he by his work for the European Commission. The younger brother Hans-Jörg (Moritz Bleibtreu, Solino) would love to complain about his relationship troubles and love life, but his problem is that he does not have one. All he can think about is sex, and his job at a public library drives him mad during hot summer days; to him it seems like all the girls wear next to nothing just to remind him of the fact that he has no success in either love or lust. The film explores their longing for normality (though each brother would define that differently) and the need for love from others in order to establish their ideals. The only love these three men can count on is the unconditional love for one another, though at least one of them does not even seem to notice that. Three impeccable performances from Bleibtreu, Knaup and Weiß make Agnes und seine Brüder a worthwhile treat. While the script, written by director Roehler, and the editing has the occasional hiccough (some scenes are too drawn out, while others - including a sequence in which Agnes meets a former American lover - are awkwardly contrived), the actors actually make us care for these dysfunctional brothers.The Tschirners have enough problems to fill an entire season of Jerry Springer with just the three of them, though Roehler and his thespians keep things grounded in something akin to normality. Only one of the brothers will find some form of happiness, though the way in which he arrives at it is dubious and should not be tried at home. Another brother will not find much happiness at all whilst the third brother more or less maintains the status quo. One wonders what will happen with the next generation of Tschirners, especially Werner’s son Ralf (Tom Schilling, from Napola), who has an interesting set of parents and uncles to say the least. At his young age, he has enough hands-on experience in dealing with outrageous problems to replace Jerry Springer should the talkshow host decide to retire tomorrow. Buy the DVD: amazon.de. |
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|