Reviews

Who would have thought that a plot being set in a nursing home for the aged could do without clichés, tear-jerking stereotypes or general accusations of our cold-hearted world?

Who would have thought that this film turned out to be a masterpiece of Germany's best actors of three generations...because they all, without any exception, play their parts in a withdrawn way, never sentimental, never theatrical?

On the contrary. Their outstanding skills achieve a deep understanding with the viewer, be it the workaholic played by the ever so convincing Herbert Knaup, the passionate but exhausted nurse superbly played by Suzanne von Borsody, the angry young woman authentically played by Anna Maria Mühe, and last but not least the cast of the old, with just wonderful performances of Rosemarie Fendel, Helmut Baumann and Ernst Stankowski. Just look at the face of Veronika Fitz in some of her small, but unforgettable scenes and you will never forget what tragedy is.

What is life like when you are not needed any more? Who are you when you get old and become a burden to both family and society? The film doesn't give any satisfying answers, it leaves you alone with your impressions and irritations. But maybe this is the reason why you will not forget it, you will think of it again and again. Because it showed life as life works. And still, there's some hope, some tenderness or even some kind of poetry that you will also remember.

Director Sylvia Hoffmann should be awarded for all that. And the magnificent cast as well.

I can't remember any other German-speaking newcomer who has impressed me so much as Jacob Matschenz did. There might be some flaws in the plot, but the topic is highly interesting and the cast is brilliant, e.g. Max Riemelt and Jutta Hoffmann to name those actors who are always grand.

But it's definitely Matschenz who carries the burden of being in almost every scene, but masters his job astonishingly. The transformation of his character is played so sensitively that you can't help but enjoy his performance although the topic is far from pleasant. Close-ups of his face show the enormous talent this young actor has got - his emotions become visible in tiny little changes of his facial expression. Not the big poses we know from most Hollywood films.

Some critics might say the cruelty at the German/German border belongs to history, but I think the exact opposite is true: those people who worked at the border treated the arch fiend (i.e. all the people from the Western world) so badly, they humiliated us travelers and visitors in an arrogant, mean way - and live among us as respected citizens today. They should not be allowed to... Let alone the cruelties they committed against their fellow citizens - which "An die Grenze" just points to!

The film shows the spirit that was behind all this - a good lesson in history for the younger generation.