Review of Jerichow (2009) by Ld P — 22 Feb 2010

Jerichow is a region in a part of East Germany that faces the Baltic Sea--it used to be in the GDR. A dishonorably discharged Afghanistan veteran Thomas returns to his home village of Jerichow. There after witnessing a wreck with a guy who was drinking he meets Ali who hires him as a driver.

Ali (Hilmi Sozer), a middle aged Turkish immigrant who owns of a snack-bar chain in Eastern German . Then Thomas meets Laura, his Turkish boss's young & attractive wife (Nina Hoss who is very beautiful).

Thomas ( Benno Furmann) was in the Army during the war in Afghanistan he is at his motherâ??s funeral & he has confrontation with business man he owes large sum of money to. So between them begins a classic love triangle.

Petzold writes & directs a fine, tight film about 3 characters, each with a dark side to their character. It is a well directed & acted drama about a love & lust for the 3. The Ali character is the rich macho acting *ss*ole--he is not a happy man.

The wife is the submissive beauty. Thomas is the quiet stoic strong army guy needing money & job. There is a resemblance to both versions of 'The Postman Always Rings Twice', also similar to the films by the late Reiner Werner Fassbinder Robert Bresson, & others.

(as mentioned by others) This is an austere film making from director Petzold whose works are not well known in this country. The cinematography is really terrific & beautiful set in the desolate northeast Germany, where thick forests suddenly end on cliffs overlooking the Baltic Sea .

The film also captures a social portrait of newly multicultural Germany, at least as it extends into the country's forgotten rural interior. The film does a good job giving us people in the dead ends they face & in the spiritual emptiness that causes people to do desperate things in search of happiness.

In the end Ali ends up earning some of our sympathy is a testament to both Petzold's smart script & Sozer's deeply nuanced performance, a trait shared by his two co-actors.