Mein Vater ­ A Film by Andreas Kleinert

This doesn’t happen very often! A director ­ Andreas Kleinert, truly an actors’ director ­ works with an ensemble on a film ­ Mein Vater ­ in which there are neither large nor small roles, only larger-than-life human beings. To encounter such achievements ­ even when the story is bitter and distressing ­ is a joy to share. Götz George plays the father, incurably ill from Alzheimer disease. His son Jochen brings the helpless patient home to his family. That Götz George would deliver such a masterful performance was a given from the start. But that all the members of the ensemble would contribute such a homogenous team performance was a pleasant surprise. No doubt, the director apportioned a measure of personal human warmth to augment a rich display of acting talent. In addition, there is a splendid screenplay by Karl-Heinz Käfer and a commendable musical score by Andreas Hoge. To his credit, Hoge didn’t coat the images with soppy tones, as though the music is there to make up for flimsy scenes and frail dialogue.
       The scenes from My Father (WDR Cologne) are grandly constructed and performed: for instance, the scene with the social worker, the scenes in the bar with the knowing and perceptive hostess (Christine Schorn). Or when Götz George refuses like a pampered child to sleep in his own bed ­ he has the unique talent to bring a touch of humor into a tragic story. Then there’s the scene at the dining-room table, when the visiting mother-in-law is confronted by George playing the »spoiled brat« ­ and the mother-in-law responds: »Fools always speak the truth.«
       This damned illness that turns everything upside down and turns grown men into children. Things only go from bad to worse. The daughter-in-law (Ulrike Krumbiegel), helping as best she can, quits her job to stay with the grandfather around the clock ­ but finally she just can’t take it any more and is forced to leave. Now there’s just the son Jochen left to look after the demented old man, together with the grandson Oliver (Sergey Moya). Jochen, played sensitively and convincing by Klaus J. Behrendt ­ perhaps the most difficult role in this family drama ­ loses control and beats his father, the scene witnessed by his son Oliver. The look of disdain in the eyes of his young son lays the tragedy of the situation bare. We experience first-hand how drastic the illness has become. Grandpa slops all over his food, he can set the house on fire, he is completely unpredictable. So drastic and embarrassing as the panic and helplessness of this sick old man becomes, Götz George remains a human being with dignity. Alzheimer reduces its victim to a miserable spiritual poverty, and it can drag a caring family down along with it. In photo: left, Götz George, with Klaus J. Behrendt (Bild: WDR/Uwe Stratmann).
       Unforgettable the closing scene ­ camera, Johann Feindt. One night, the son unlocks and opens the door of the house for his father, the door upon which he has been continually banging. For a sustained time, they look into each other’s eyes ­ a solemn and tender rendering of the soul. Then Jochen lets his father go his way ­ into the traffic of a busy highway. The headlights of the passing cars grow brighter and brighter, they come closer and closer. The old sick man walks into the light... Mein Vater was awarded First Prize for Best Fiction Film at the 16. Festival International de Programmes Audiovisuel (FIPA) in Biarritz.

Dorothea Moritz