Undine
In this mysterious German drama, Christian Petzold (Barbara) re-tells the myth of water nymph Undine, who – once out of the water – can only survive through human love.
In this mysterious German drama, Christian Petzold (Barbara) re-tells the myth of water nymph Undine, who – once out of the water – can only survive through human love.
Undine is a historian who works as a museum guide in Berlin. She is nonchalantly beautiful, and the way she imparts her knowledge about the city that was built on a swamp is as professional as it is graceful. And yet, time and again, her gaze wanders over to the courtyard café at the Stadtmuseum to see if he is there, or is still there, or if he’s there again. Him. But Johannes is leaving, leaving her, and Undine’s world is collapsing. The magic has gone.
Christian Petzold reworks the myth of the mysterious water spirit as a modern fairy-tale in a disenchanted world. His Undine defies her role as a powerless and spurned woman and falls in love anew, with Christoph, who dives into the sunken world of a reservoir. Petzold’s deeply assured work reimagines this legend by way of his own cinematic vision, in which precise everyday gestures are combined with ghostly hyperrealism. The story of a life-or-death love, splendidly and effortlessly told. (source: www.berlinale.de)