Toni Erdmann

Dir: Maren Ade

2016

*****

Maren Ade's wonderfully original Toni Erdmann might just be my favourite film of 2016, as it managed to master the balance between two parallel emotions while hitting the peak of both - which is no easy feat - and because it is exactly the sort of film I've been wanting someone to make since 1995. Without wanting to take anything away from Maren Ade - and I'm really not - I see Toni Erdmann as the logical progression of the Dogme 95 movement. Sure the manifesto was broken by its own author, who was subsequently kicked out of the group, but I always thought the films were somewhat hampered by their own rules. For the most part they were profoundly beautiful, but they often tried too hard and some - Julien Donkey-Boy for instance - broke the rules anyway. Toni Erdmann could easily fit into the Dogme 95 guidelines, except for certain camera and sound techniques, as it is without genre and is without superficiality, indeed, it challenges both concepts. The contrast and relationship between happiness and sadness is age old and is rarely ever mastered. It is easy for a film to contain both emotions, although it is easier to get it wrong, but I would argue it is near impossible to display both feelings at the same time. The image of the crying clown comes to mind but actually it's not one that has ever had much effect on me, clowns being fictional. Toni Erdmann is fictional too but then he's not. He's a father called Winfried Conradi who desperately wants a relationship with his somewhat estranged daughter Ines. He adopts a clown-like character to get closer to her, which works as well as it could. Maren Ade's film suggests that, in a very un-Hollywood way, that sometimes there is no answer, distance (metaphorically speaking), no matter how hard you fight it, is something family will always have between them, but, you can still have moments. Joyous, wondrous, horrific, beautiful moments. Toni Erdmann will be one of the more bizarre films most people have ever seen and yet it is the most realistic and human film I can think of, the likes of which Hollywood and the mainstream just can't muster. I'm all about the magic of cinema but Toni Erdmann shows us the Majesty of the garden without us having to believe there are fairies living at the bottom of it. It resonated with me more than any other film I can think of. Where Dogme 95 films such as The Idiots and Festen were a bold mix of emotions, they, like many of the other Dogme 95 films, all ended with a punch. Lars von Trier once commented that a film should be like a stone in your shoe but Toni Erdmann is much more of a reassurance, an acknowledgment that people can relate to. It's like a nod from a stranger who recognizes that you have something in common, without the need to talk about it, it's no big deal but it's somewhat comforting. However, your reaction to the film's conclusion will be personal, it's not open to interpretation but certainly dependent on your viewpoint. I would describe the film as a comedy drama, although director and writer Maren Ade has suggested that it is a sad film, the comedy isn't really written with intentional humour. Laughter is often a natural reaction to something that might shock a person, something lazily exploited in TV and film, here it is far more subtle than that, we laugh at the nonsensical sadness of it all. In this respect I found Toni Erdmann to be something of a refreshing antidote to the now-typical awkward humour developed by Ricky Gervais's The Office and Friends (to some extent). Seinfeld is probably responsible too but when he did it it was cartoonish, extreme and very funny. This hyper-real awkward comedy is a cancer in contemporary TV and cinema and it is time people started rejecting it. There is an awkwardness to it, again as seen in the early Dogme 95 films, but it is real enough and tender enough, for it to be perfectly watchable, believable and dare I say it, enjoyable. Maren Ade understands the importance of silence, I can't think of anyone other than the brilliant Peter Simonischek and Sandra Hüller who could have portrayed estranged father and daughter better than they did but even then, Ade would have both actors perform 30-40 takes of each seen on average. This wasn't an improvised piece, every single second is used and absolutely nothing is wasted. Over one hundred hours was shot and Ade edited the film for a whole year, taking only a few weeks off in-between to give birth. Toni Erdmann himself is partly based on her own father, and also on Andy Kaufman's character Tony Clifton. The characters are there to reflect on the nature happiness, the conclusion being that life can, and often has to, get in the way. Maybe it's best that happiness is fleeting, it makes it more special, although seeing happiness as some sort of treat also feels wrong. It's an interesting thought, one that most people avoid, as no one really wants to admit it when they're unhappy. Ade said herself that desperation is the origin of comedy, and that really comes across, and the more serious the film, the funnier it becomes. I adore this film and love everything about it. The direction and editing is immaculate, the idea and the execution of it is brilliant and the performances from Peter Simonischek and Sandra Hüller are impeccable. This will be one of those rare films I revisit every few years or so, breaking my rule of never watching the same film twice, but I think it is important to remind yourself of things that strike you in profound ways and it'll also be a treat to look forward to. Instant classic.