Biyograficim
Jerichow

Jerichow

Movie · 2008 · 7 people

Christian Petzold wrote and directed Jerichow, a German drama released in 2008. The story takes loose inspiration from The Postman Always Rings Twice, James M. Cain's American novel of 1934. Petzold, whose earlier work includes Wolfsburg and Yella, is counted among the leading names of new German cinema. Jerichow had its premiere on 28 August 2008 as the first film shown in the Venice Film Festival competition and opened in Germany on 8 January 2009.

The simple story is set in the north-eastern German town that gives the film its name. Thomas, who has left military service in Afghanistan, moves into the house his mother left him, but money worries and unemployment follow him. He finds work with the Turkish-German entrepreneur Ali and then grows close to Ali's wife Laura. The forbidden affair wears away the trust among the three and draws them toward a dangerous reckoning. Benno Fürmann plays Thomas, Nina Hoss is Laura, Hilmi Sözer is Ali and André Hennicke is Léon. German and Turkish are spoken, and the film runs about 92 minutes.

It was nominated for Best Feature Film and Best Director at the 2009 German Film Prize. It was also shown to audiences at the Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival in Turkey.

DirectorChristian Petzold

Reactions

You can pick up to 3 reactions.

Cast

Only cast members with a profile on this site are listed.

Hilmi Sözer Hilmi Sözer Actor · 56 years old Benno Fürmann Nina Hoss André Hennicke Claudia Geisler-Bading Marie Gruber Knut Berger

Through different eyes

Cinephile Looks at script, editing and directing choices; keeps a distance from formula films.

Petzold takes the noir skeleton of The Postman Always Rings Twice and turns it into a spare provincial drama. That simplicity is both the film's strength and its limit. The strength: the tension among the three comes not from big events but from money, work and dependence, and the balance between boss, employee and wife turns a love triangle into a power relationship. The limit is how closely it hugs the genre's familiar turns; anyone who knows Cain's novel or its adaptations may sense where it is heading early on. This restrained, anti-melodramatic telling will not please everyone, since it is a forbidden-love story that smells more of calculation than passion. Still, it is a disciplined piece that shows why new German cinema gets talked about.

History & Society Lens Asks about the period, the social background and what the work reflects.

What makes Jerichow more than a love triangle is where its characters stand in society. A former soldier back from Afghanistan, jobless and broke; a Turkish-German entrepreneur who has built his own business in north-eastern Germany; and a woman caught between them. The film looks at how economic insecurity shapes human relationships: who depends on whom matters as much as loyalty. Ali points to an interesting set-up in which a man of immigrant background is the employer and the usual balance is reversed. German and Turkish spoken side by side reflect that mixed social fabric naturally.

Action & Thriller Fan Puts pace, tension and set pieces first; little patience for slow drama.

A forbidden affair, money trouble and a dangerous reckoning: there is plenty of fuel for tension. But Jerichow chooses to heat it slowly instead of letting it explode. It moves like a slow drama, and for anyone expecting a gripping crime thriller that can be a test of patience. For fans of slow-burn films that draw their tension from atmosphere, it is a good pick.

These are not reader reviews: they are short editorial takes written from different viewer perspectives with AI assistance. Reader reviews are below.

Reviews (0)

Log in Log in to write a review.

Comments