This evening I’ll finally be submitting to Christian Petzold‘s Afire, a reportedly not-bad film about an unlikely romantic current between characters played by the fleshy Thomas Schubert and the much thinner Paula Beer (Transit, Undine). A 7:25 pm show at the Jacob Burns Film Center.
Boilerplate: “While vacationing by the Baltic Sea, writer Leon (Schubert) and photographer Felix (Langston Uibel) are surprised by the presence of Nadja (Beer), a mysterious young woman staying as a guest at Felix’s family’s holiday home. Nadja distracts Leon from finishing his latest novel and, with brutal honesty, forces him to confront his caustic temperament and self-absorption. An encroaching forest fire threatens the group as Nadja and Leon grow closer, and tensions escalate when a handsome lifeguard and Leon’s tight-lipped book editor also arrive.”
Journalist friendo: “It’s a relatively intriguing film. Works on two levels as a (very) slow-burning romantic drama between the budding writer and summer housemate (at least on his part), and equally on LGBTQ level between the other two guys, plus a bit of a bait-and-switch on audience expectations. [Chubby guy] is annoying throughout. It gets quite convoluted by the end.”
