Toni Erdmann (2016)
2016
162 Minutes
Without a warning a father comes to visit his daughter abroad. He believes that she lost her humor and therefore surprises her with a rampage of jokes.
User Review
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WHAT I LIKED: 'Toni Erdmann,' is an incredibly unusual and surprisingly successful cocktail, as it explores a unique concoction of ideas as a character-driven tragicomedy that's centrally about the relationship between an estranged father and daughter, but that hits home on so many more levels than that. Yes on the one hand this incredibly ambitious piece of work explores stress and sexism in the workplace and the effects of globalisation through the story of the troubled daughter, and then uses her father to show all of that through the eyes of a different generation to explore ideas about ageing and family, and centrally how one copes with every-day life. The approach of the daughter Ines (brilliantly portrayed by Sandra Huller) is to throw herself into work, whilst the father 'Erdmann's (Peter Simonischek) is seemingly to ignore the moment with silly and irritating practical jokes. Both are characters who avoid reflection and getting to the bottom of their own problems, and seeing them interact is frustrating for sure, but also genuinely moving as the story develops. Seriously, the brief moments where the tension between them is released and their every-day coping mechanisms crack are properly powerful because you're so attached to the characters, and this is largely because you get so much time with them. All in all then, 'Toni Erdmann,' is very unusual but very successful indeed, as it engages for the entirety of its lengthy run-time and is often extremely moving.
WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE: It's humorous elements are a required taste, and as said previously, it an be a frustrating watch at times.
VERDICT: A touching film that explores many ideas in an incredibly thought-provoking and affecting way, 'Toni Erdmann,' really is a triumph, even if it is a frustrating one to watch at times.0 member like this review.
