Berlin Syndrome (film)

Berlin Syndrome
Theatrical film poster
Directed by	Cate Shortland
Produced by	Polly Staniford
Written by	Shaun Grant
Based on	Berlin Syndrome by Melanie Joosten
Starring	Teresa Palmer Max Riemelt
Music by	Bryony Marks
Cinematography	Germain McMicking
Edited by	Jack Hutchings
Production companies	Screen Australia[1] Aquarius Films Film Victoria Memento Films International Entertainment One DDP Studios Fulcrum Media Finance Photoplay Films
Distributed by	Entertainment One (Australia) Netflix (France)
Release date	20 January 2017 (2017-01-20) (Sundance) 20 April 2017 (2017-04-20) (Australia) 27 August 2017 (2017-08-27) (France)
Running time	116 minutes
Country	Australia France[1]
Language	English German

Berlin Syndrome is a 2017 Australian-French^[1] psychological thriller drama film directed by Cate Shortland, and written by Shaun Grant, based upon the novel of the same name by Melanie Joosten. The film tells about a young photographer Clare, going to Germany, where she meets an attractive guy Andi. Waking up after a stormy night of passion, Clare realizes that Andi locked her in the apartment and is not going to let her go.

Starring Teresa Palmer and Max Riemelt, it had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on 20 January 2017 and was released in Australia on 20 April 2017, by Entertainment One.

Plot

Clare (Teresa Palmer), a young Australian backpacker, is exploring Berlin when she meets a local man named Andi (Max Riemelt) and has a one-night stand with him. The next morning, however, she finds that he has locked her in his apartment. Clare believes Andi when he says he accidentally forgot to leave her a key, and she stays with him another night. Soon, however, Clare realises Andi has no intention of ever letting her go, discovering that he has written the word meine (mine) on her shoulder and stolen her SIM card from her phone. Clare tries to escape by smashing the windows but discovers they are double paned. To her amazement, when Andi comes home, he acts like nothing is wrong, offering her flowers and pesto. She attacks him but he physically restrains her, then keeps her tied up.

While Clare is confined to his apartment, Andi goes to dinner with his father, a professor, and mentions that he's dating a new woman. Andi's father asks what happened to Natalie, and Andi tells him that she went back to Canada. His father mentions Andi's mother, prompting Andi to speak bitterly about how she defected to the west before the Wall came down. That night, when Andi lets Clare shower, she is horrified to find long blond hair clumped in the drain, and realises she is probably not his first victim. Meanwhile, Andi pretends that things are normal, cheerfully telling Clare, "I told my father about us" and "I texted your mother for you." Clare uses a screwdriver to attack Andi and flee the apartment, but he catches up with her and brings her back after breaking her hand.

One night, Franka, a student at the sports school where Andi teaches, shows up at his apartment. Andi warns Clare that he will kill Franka if she gets to know that he is holding her prisoner. When Franka sees a flash of Clare in a towel, Andi tells her it's his girlfriend and puts her down, causing her to leave. Meanwhile, Andi continues with his bizarre behaviour, taking Polaroids of Clare in disturbing positions and cutting off pieces of her hair. Some time later, Andi finds out his father has died in his sleep. A depressed Andi stays in his father's house for a week, while Clare is left in the apartment with the power turned off. Unable to escape, she takes Polaroids of herself and eats what is left of the food until Andi finally returns. Clare appears relieved as she thought he was not going to come back, she comforts Andi for his loss and sleeps with him.

As the holidays approach, Clare's mood brightens slightly: She learns the accordion, bakes and cleans. For Christmas, Andi gives her books and his father's old dog, which he kills a few days later as he is jealous of their relationship. Just after Christmas, Andi takes her out into the forest, planning to kill her with an axe. Before he does, a child cries out running toward them saying his brother has hurt his leg. She whispers to the boy to go to the police, but he does not understand English and is afraid of her. After the boy's mother appears, Andi takes Clare home. She eventually breaks into a locked room within the apartment and finds a photo book filled with Polaroids of what looks to be the blonde Natalie, whom Andi had presumably kidnapped and murdered before her.

A man with a flashlight sees Clare in one of the unboarded windows and attempts to rescue her as she cries for help. Andi comes home just then and viciously kills the man. He then forces Clare to help wrap the body in plastic, telling her it's her fault. He takes the body outside and burns it. More time passes as Clare is held prisoner. Andi sees a column in the newspaper about Clare being searched as a missing person. He tells her to pack her things into a backpack under the pretense that he is having the flat fumigated. Seeing a stack of workbooks that Andi is grading, Clare intentionally burns her hand on the stove and steals one of them when Andi goes to get her ointment. Later, Andi leaves for the final time, turning the power and water off as he goes.

At work, Andi hands out his students' workbooks, including Franka's. Inside hers, Franka discovers a Polaroid of a bound Clare that she had hidden for the girl to find. As Franka leaves the classroom in shock, the Polaroid falls to the floor and is discovered and passed around by the other students. Andi quickly realises that he has been exposed and leaves in a panic, speeding back to his house. Franka rides her bike to the apartment and finds Clare just before Andi arrives. In hiding, Clare is finally able to trap Andi in the part of the house where he had kept her. She is seen later riding in a taxicab, putting back on a necklace her mother had given her that Andi had stolen. The film ends with Clare crying happily as she peers outside the car window, finally free.

Cast

Production

Producer Polly Staniford, actor Max Riemelt and director Cate Shortland at the Berlinale 2017

The film is based on the novel of the same name by Melanie Joosten, and the title is a reference to Stockholm syndrome. According to director Cate Shortland, the character of Andi had romanticised and idealised the East Germany of his childhood, and wanted to recreate a utopia in his own life.^[2]

In May 2015, Teresa Palmer and Max Riemelt joined the cast.^[3] Riemelt was chosen from a shortlist of 10 male actors; Shortland felt he best portrayed the lack of shame of a true sociopath.^[2]

Release

The film had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on 20 January 2017.^[6][7] Prior to Entertainment One, Curzon Artificial Eye, Vertical Entertainment and Netflix acquired Australian, United Kingdom, United States distribution rights, respectively.^[8][9] It was released in Australia on 20 April,^[10] in the United States on 5 May,^[11] and in the United Kingdom on 9 June 2017.^[12]

Reception

Berlin Syndrome was met with positive reviews. On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 73% based on 82 reviews, and an average rating of 6.3/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Berlin Syndrome offers thriller fans an uncommonly well-written descent into dangerous obsession, enlivened by taut direction and a committed performance from Teresa Palmer."^[13] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 70 out of 100, based on 17 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".^[14]

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Berlin Syndrome (film).

• Berlin Syndrome on IMDb
• Berlin Syndrome at Rotten Tomatoes