NOTHING BAD CAN HAPPEN – The Review

How far does your faith stretch? If you’ve never considered your answer to that question, I highly recommend watching Katrin Gebbe’s NOTHING BAD CAN HAPPEN. The writer and director’s feature-film debut is a powerfully poignant meditation on that very question. This recommendation, however, comes with a warning of great caution. You are likely to be offended, but this is perfectly fine.

This German film’s original title is “Tore tanzt,” which translates in English to “Tore dances.” Tore, being the film’s central character, is played by Julius Feldmeier. Tore is a pale, lanky teenager who somewhat resembles Napoleon Dynamite. In an effort to find meaning and purpose in his life, Tore joins a religious group in Hamburg, Germany who refer to themselves as The Jesus Freaks. Tore is perfectly at home amidst the group, but it is apparent he is truly a lone sheep existing within a pack of wolves.

As Tore discovers the flaws and inconsistencies within The Jesus Freaks, he grows slightly disconnected but remains in denial of the truth. In the process, Tore finds what he hopes will be a refreshing reprieve with a local family. After helping to repair Benno’s car, Tore is invited to join them for a meal. Benno, played by Sascha Alexander Gersak, seems like a friendly, generous man at first, but does not subscribe to Tore’s spiritual philosophy, which proves only to be the beginning of their differences.

The upside of encountering Benno proves to be Tore’s meeting his step-daughter Sanny, played by Swantje Kohlhof. At first presenting herself as a typically cynical teen wrought with attitude and discontent, Tore somehow brings out a lighter, more caring version of herself, likely to have been oppressed since about the time Benno entered her life. Tore finds himself driven to save Sanny from the devastating physical and emotional abuse she endures from Benno, while constantly impeded by the inconsistent insecurities of Sanny’s mother Astrid, played by Annika Kuhl.

NOTHING BAD CAN HAPPEN is a film so thoroughly drenched in negativity and cruelty that the spiritual optimism of Tore fighting to retain his faith beyond all odds is often unbearable. While Benno’s onslaught of inhumanity comes on slowly, he’s relentless in his mission to emotionally cripple Tore, purely out of spite. Benno has no logical reason to hate Tore, but seems to actually enjoy subjecting him to one demeaning and monstrous ordeal after another. In this, Tore becomes something of an enlightened superhero of ordinary origins.

Despite the unsavory subject matter and the relatively tasteful depictions of despicable acts portrayed on screen, Gebbe somehow manages to invoke a sense of warmth and intimacy that sets the audience up for gentler slap to the face. The cinematography delves into a bleak but inviting yellowish color palette and the freely moving, natural camera puts the audience in the presence of Tore’s experience. We may not always want to be present, but that’s part of the unpleasant appeal of the film.

Gersak’s performance is subdued and withdrawn, making his brand of evil that much more unsettling. In his mind, whether conscious of it or not, his actions are perfectly acceptable. As a result, it seems he is able to fool everyone around him, except for Tore and Sanny. Feldmeier’s performance is also subdued. Tore is the yin to Benno’s yang. The are alike but contrary, like the proverbial superhero has his arch-nemesis. With Tore, we understand his drive and feel his struggle through his eyes as he struggles to maintain his strength and composure, whereas Gersak’s eyes accentuate the cold nature of the sociopath.

NOTHING BAD CAN HAPPEN, as the tile of this film, may be a perfect summation of Tore’s mindset, but is also perhaps the more literally ironic in recent years. I predict this will be a film the audiences will either love or hate. Few will be able to watch this film objectively, as intended — I believe — and in doing so forces the viewer to confront their own sense of morality. Despite the initial setup and context, NOTHING BAD CAN HAPPEN is not a film about God or religion, but is a triumphantly successful exploration of human nature and its opposing extremes.

NOTHING BAD CAN HAPPEN is currently playing in select theaters.

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars