Elementarteilchen is Roehlers reinterpretation of Houellebecqs novel "particules elementaires". While certainly not a faithful adaption in terms of the level of hardness and nihilism (the biggest point of criticism by other reviewers and critics), i was surprised how many details and scenes of the book he got right, and i was even more surprised to see how well he was able to move the very french setting to Germany, that is, the special parallel Roehler-Germany depicted in all of his movies. Recasting the french nudist camps of the Cote d'Azur to the campsites next to the reservoirs of East Germany was really a stroke of genius that impressed me. The casting is a bit problematic: Ulmen is a former German music television clown jock, and Bleibtreu was mostly seen in stupid German comedies. In the beginning it was hard for me to get used to watch them in serious roles. Additionally my viewing experience was significantly impaired by complete morons in the audience who thought they were watching a comedy and laughed at about every line delivered (completely independent of what was said). Also, the actors taken for the main characters at young age were too different from those playing the grown ones. The young Annabelle was as beautiful as described in the book, and the grown one was just Franka Potente again, a woman who does not fit that role at all. I think Germany really needs more different actors, its just subideal to take the same 10 people (half of them television presenters) over and over again. But regardless of the poor material Roehler had to work with, he really has created a movie worth watching, IF you are ready to accept it as a commentary on Houellebecqs novel, which does accept the problems are there and cause human tragedies, but refuses to be the same extremist nihilistic whining and see no solution at all, not even a partial one. The limited luck granted to the brothers and their women in the end is quite similar to the luck granted to the lovers Robert and Marie in Roehlers earlier film "Der alte Affe Angst" of 2003. The treatment of the book reminded my a bit of Soderbergh's "Solaris" of 2002, where the setting and prevailing mood were completely changed, but details were so surprisingly accurate, that there is no doubt that the director highly respects the original text. Recommended for people with brains, a history of dysfunctional relationships and deeply-rooted European angst inside them.
Review of Elementarteilchen
