Toni Erdmann
13 December 2022
Director: Maren Ade
See
Her: Toni Erdmann by a German female director whom I don’t know, starring actors I’ve never heard of. It’s a very unusual combination for me as usually those are the reasons to choose a movie to watch. I don’t know which awards it won either, however, the title was stuck in my head ever since it was released (in 2016) and I’m glad I can finally cross it off my list.
Him: Toni Erdmann directed by Maren Ade is the story of Winfied (Peter Simonischek) a practical joker in Germany reconnecting with his daughter Ines (Sandra Hüller) a workaholic in Bucharest. I don’t recognise the names of those who made it and the camera is low budget, but this is pure cinema as it should be and was Cannes Film Festival worthy.
Think
Her: I guess one reason I was putting it away all the time is the duration and the story I didn’t think I could connect with. Ines and her father have a pretty complicated relationship. Which however, doesn’t represent a common issues where the father is never available and the daughter has to constantly chase him. But this could be just a recent development triggered by changes in his life and the relatisation that he doesn’t know what happens in his daughter’s life anymore.
Him: Seeing Winfied in his light hearted approach to life, and how all his friends and family beam, when he enters the room is in contrast to his daughter who takes life so seriously and is ambitious and a career driven consultant. He ingratiates himself to her corporate circles by going to Romania and pantomiming Toni Erdmann, a life coach for her CEO.
Feel
Her: Toni’s character is one of my favourites in the movies: a adult man who managed to preserve a child in himself, and in a sense of irresponsibility but in the way he sees the world and communicates. His successful daughter seemingly learned this late through at a critical moment it’s her father who teaches her a lesson of how to finally get to the next stage where she so desperately want to be.
Him: The scene where she opens up is by performing an impromptu soiree, singing while he plays piano at a Romanian Orthodox easter celebration is the point where Ines develops a personality and goes for it. She then can bring her whole naked self to a work brunch she hosts for team boosting morale. It enables her to let go, and get the ob she wants in Singapore, by being less uptight and becoming her father’s daughter rather than being embarrassed by him.
