A young woman on holiday in Nice tries to befriend her absent lover’s haughty teenage kids in this crisply observed drama. “A cerebral snapshot of the moneyed, cultured, multilingual bourgeoisie at play.” — Hollywood Reporter
A crisp little character study; a cerebral snapshot of the moneyed, cultured, multilingual bourgeoisie at play.
Screened as part of NZIFF 2013
Everyday Objects 2013
Halbschatten
Expecting to meet her lover Romuald, Merle turns up at his hillside villa in Nice to find that he’s had a change of plans. Romuald’s 13-year-old daughter Emma and his 16-year-old son Felix don’t exactly make her welcome, but she bides her time working on the book she is writing, then attempts to ingratiate herself with Emma, Felix and their circle, who are taking full advantage of their father’s neglect. In a concise, coolly formal style, director Nicolas Wackerbarth observes the subtle drama of self-discovery in Merle’s efforts to carve out a space where she may never belong. “An intelligent and seductive work… Stories about people having bad times in nice places, especially on holiday, has become a prominent sub-genre of European art cinema – notably, in Joanna Hogg’s Unrelated and Maren Ade’s Everyone Else. German feature Everyday Objects is an impressive, keenly focused addition to this cycle.” — Jonathan Romney, Screendaily