Review of Wolfsburg (2003) by Walter M — 27 Feb 2014

"Wolfsburg" proves once and for all that one should never talk on the phone when driving when Philipp(Benno Furmann), distracted, runs over Paul(Martin Museler) on his bike. Fleeing from the scene, Philipp returns home just in time to stop his girlfriend Katja(Antje Westermann) from leaving. The news reaches Paul's mother Laura(Nina Hoss) as she and her friend Vera(Astrid Meyerfeldt) are about to steal a little lobster from the supermarket where they both work. At least, things are looking up for Paul by the time they get to the hospital...

"Wolfsburg" is a thoughtful movie about grief and guilt that makes a valid, if obvious, point at the end that it had already made. On a more commercial level, set in the city where the main Volkswagen factory is, the movie is also concerned with the conflict between autos and bikes. In Europe, it is a balance between the two but here in the States the autos are winning by a landslide partially because of their appeal in supposedly granting larger freedom of movement. But to Philipp, they only serve to be something of a prison and a trap. All of which is nice but there is more to developing an original story than having the amazing Nina Hoss on speed dial and thinking about important themes, as "Wolfsburg" is dragged down to earth from more than its share of formulaic predictability.