UNDINE – Review

A strange, suspenseful tale of love, betrayal and tragedy, UNDINE is a re-imagining of a fairy-tale myth, set in modern Berlin. Director/writer Christian Petzold (TRANSIT, PHOENIX, BARBARA) reunites the stars of his film TRANSIT, Paula Beers and Franz Rogowski, for this tale of mystery and romance, which allows UNDINE to capitalize on the remarkable chemistry between the two actors in that earlier film. UNDINE is a haunting tale with a mysterious aura and a touch of magical realism, beautifully constructed and shot, with gripping, heartbreaking performances.

Mystery, romance and myth mix in Christian Petzold’s UNDINE, inspired by the fairy-tale of the undine, or ondine. an always-female water spirit that lives forest lakes. Like many fairy tales, love and death are intertwined in the various tales of the undine, a supernatural creature who can gain a human soul if she marries a man, but if he leaves her, tragedy follows. The myth of the undine, with roots in Greek and German myths, has been the source of several mythic tales, including novels, operas, ballets and films, and was the inspiration for Hans Christian Anderson’s “Little Mermaid.” Petzold’s re-imagining is quite different from that one but he was inspired by his childhood memories of the dark fairy-tale story and Peter von Matt‘s non-fiction book “Romantic Treachery.”

This re-imagined story does not start with a mythic character in the water, although there is a lake later in the tale, but firmly grounded in the contemporary world. Undine (Paula Beers) is a historian who gives lectures on Berlin’s urban development and architectural history to touring groups and dignitaries, as a city historian in Berlin working for the Senate Administration for Urban Development. She gives her talks in front of a sprawling architectural model, and her lecture touch on politics (something common in Petzold’s films), but only obliquely, particularly on decisions made after the reunification of the city with the fall of East Germany.

The film opens, not with Undine’s work, but a break-up with her handsome boyfriend Johannes (Jacob Matschenz), which takes place at an outdoor cafe next to where she works. She is stunned that he is leaving her, apparently for someone else, and he delivers this blow with a casual, even callous manner, telling her she should have suspected it was coming. When she calmly says “If you leave, I’ll have to kill you. You know that,” he is not surprised, and even is irritated more than anything. The statement is shocking, but it is a reference to the myth and her name, and the way the scene is handled, our sympathy stays with her. When Undine repeats it, more as a statement of fact than a threat, he looks a bit more nervous. She has to go to work but insists he wait at the cafe until her break, so they can talk more.

Water finally enters the story when Undine returns to the cafe, and finds Johannes is nowhere in sight. As she searches for him, she approached by a man who was at her lecture, Christoph (Franz Rogowski), an industrial diver who is now desperate to talk to her. He follows Undine into the inside portion of the cafe as she looks for Johannes, where she pauses when a fish tank with a figure of a miniature diver suddenly catches her eye. An accidental bump topples the fish tank, soaking both her and Christoph when it crashes to the floor.

Christoph’s sudden appearance and the link to the figure in the fish tank, distract her Undine from heartbreak over Johannes. Trying to woo her, Christoph takes her to the lake to show her where he does dangerous diving work repairing and maintaining the turbines under the dam, and where she meets his diving partner Monika (Maryam Zaree). Later, Christoph and Undine go diving in the lake together, exploring the remains of the village that was flooded when the artificial lake was created, something which has a strange effect on Undine.

Director Petzold has a knack for re-imaging stories, something he successfully did with TRANSIT and PHOENIX, both of which transformed WWII historic tales. UNDINE may be Petzold’s most mysterious tale yet, but one that wraps up with a satisfying ending despite not answering all questions.

The scenes between Paula Beers and Franz Rogowski crackle with romantic tension but a sense of unease looms in the background. The underwater scenes are particularly magical, with mysterious, half-shaded ruins submerged by the creation of the dam and its lake. Cinematographer Hans Fromm works magic in these scenes but also adds mystery and romance in every carefully composed scenes. The feeling of myth floats in the background of several scenes, boosted perfectly by touches of magical realism, often suggested by the film’s subtle score. Inevitably, the romantic idyll is interrupted and the film turns darker and suspenseful, with twists and surprises.

UNDINE is a mysterious, magical, haunting film that could serve as a darker date movie but also offers a satisfying experience for anyone who loves fairy tales of the Grimm variety.

UNDINE, in German with English subtitles, opens Friday, June 4, at Landmark’s Plaza Frontenac Cinema.

RATING: 4 out of 4 stars