"Nirgendwo" or "Nowhere" is a German 105-minute movie from 2016, so still really new and fresh. It is the first full feature film work by writer and director Matthias Starte and taking this into account he did a tolerable job I guess. But he also got surprisingly many big names in here from the new generation of German actors, which surprises me a bit as like I said this is his first work not counting short films. Anyway, this is the story of a young man who returns to his hometown and there he finds some good memories, but also some not so great memories and many characters that leave a lasting impression on him. Eventually, it is a bit of a generic "man has to confront his past to succeed in his future" kinda stuff movie that offers little that hasn't been done before and frequently not worse than here. The lead actor here is Ludwig Trepte and the other stuff I have seen him in I wasn't impressed at all. I think this is one of his better works though, but he is still far from winning me over and I don't think he is lead actor material to be honest. Supporting cast includes Saskia Rosendahl, who may be the closest that Germany has right now in terms of an Alicia Vikander equivalent, but I still have a feeling she may make it big at some point, even abroad. Here she is merely okay, but she also does not really have the material to shine I guess. Except physically of course. The latter also refers to Jella Haase once again and I am quite a fan of her. With this description I am not referring to garbage films like FJG where everybody has seen her (and probably) only there, but I am talking about stuff like "4 Könige" or also this film here to a lesser extent, where she is once again a true scene-stealer with her great charismatic screen presence and decent range as well hitting mostly all the right notes.
Sadly, the film overall (also because of Trepte and other very forgettable supporting characters and performances) is not on par with her talent here. You can easily see the filmmaker's ambition when it comes to creating a mix of authentic character study (not just about the main character) and bold approach to the New German Wave of Cinema that has lost a bid of speed in the last years though. This is not a prime example of the next generation of German actors making a defining film like "The Edukators" although it seems to be similar in tone at times, but just a pretty poor man's version. Starte's capability just doesn't match his ambition yet and most of his attempts at creating depth in here sadly just stay attempts. But hey, everybody needs to start somewhere and I hope he can step things up in the next years. Like I said, with this being only his first work you cannot expect greatness right away, even if admittedly I expected something better given the cast. And there were some scenes that were really bad to be honest and should not have been improved, but left out completely. Anyway, as a whole the negative overshadows the positive and I believe this one is really only worth seeing for the very biggest fans of Trepte/Rosendahl/Haase. Otherwise you will be as underwhelmed as I was. Don't watch.
Sadly, the film overall (also because of Trepte and other very forgettable supporting characters and performances) is not on par with her talent here. You can easily see the filmmaker's ambition when it comes to creating a mix of authentic character study (not just about the main character) and bold approach to the New German Wave of Cinema that has lost a bid of speed in the last years though. This is not a prime example of the next generation of German actors making a defining film like "The Edukators" although it seems to be similar in tone at times, but just a pretty poor man's version. Starte's capability just doesn't match his ambition yet and most of his attempts at creating depth in here sadly just stay attempts. But hey, everybody needs to start somewhere and I hope he can step things up in the next years. Like I said, with this being only his first work you cannot expect greatness right away, even if admittedly I expected something better given the cast. And there were some scenes that were really bad to be honest and should not have been improved, but left out completely. Anyway, as a whole the negative overshadows the positive and I believe this one is really only worth seeing for the very biggest fans of Trepte/Rosendahl/Haase. Otherwise you will be as underwhelmed as I was. Don't watch.
