Jerichow (2008) - Christian Petzold

Dishonorably discharged from the Army, Thomas returns home to the small town of Jerichow for his mother's funeral.  His return home isn't going well so far, with his mother's funeral being where he coincidentally runs into his old business partner who Thomas owed a lot of money.  Completely broke, Thomas stumbles across Ali, a local Turkish businessman, owner of a vast snake-bar chain.  Ali struggles with alcoholism and because of it he has just lost his license, so he takes the chance in hiring Thomas to be his driver.  Needing the money, Thomas is a good employee and the two of them form a trustful relationship.  That is until  Thomas meets Ali's beautiful German wife, Laura, entering into a passion-filled affair which throws chaos into the mix.  On the surface, Jerichow is a film that sounds incredibly generic, featuring the rich older man, his young attractive wife, and the drifter who comes between them but with Christian Petzold behind the film, it's so much more.  A film that I'm sure draws tons of comparisons to The Postman Always Rings Twice, Jerichow stands on its own due ot its fantastic characterizations and direction that reminds me of why Petzold is one of the best contemporary filmmakers in the world.  Exploring the typical themes of passion, love, and guilt, Jerichow does so with three characters that you find yourself invested in but what I found most interesting is the film's subtle commentary on the relationship between love and money.  Jerichow captures a woman in Laura who believes she forced herself into love for financial security, but it can't stop the passion she shares with Thomas.  Jerichow is also an extremely well-written film that has multiple characters experience moments of true poignancy that by the end feels more like an ensemble film, transitioning organically through the story.  Another interesting element of Jerichow is its undercurrent of European xenophobia that sees Ali feel ostracized by the end of the film.  Christian Petzold's Jerichow is a simple tale of love and betrayal told in an extremely well-crafted and artistic way, further showing Petzold's impressive ability to capture his characters emotionally.  

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