Berlin Syndrome

Admittedly my favourite film from this year's Glasgow Film Festival, Berlin Syndrome is frightening, stressful and intriguing. It's the sort of film that Taken wishes it could be and that Room tried to portray the aftermath of. Director Cate Shortland has really outdone herself in creating a film and characters that oozes tension and discomfort. The plot follows Claire, an Australian tourist, as she finds herself being held captive by her one night stand, Andi. Teresa Palmer leads a cast of practically two. Her sunken eyes and greasy complexion is a far cry from her recent role in Hacksaw Ridge. I'd like to think the transition from love interest to lost hope was a conscious decision. She stars opposite Max Riemelt who is the epitome of disturbed and confused evil. This is the first film I've seen Riemelt in but he has appeared in an array of, mostly German, TV movies and films. 

Full of unanswered questions the film alludes to the mysteries behind kidnappings and abductions. The audience questions throughout about Andi and who he kept before. We are never told what triggered the escalation in behaviour or even what role does the lack of a mother play in Andi's condition. The film does not shy away from it's title's similarity to Stockholm Syndrome. Particularly topical these days with the reboot of Beauty and the Beast next month. After his father dies, Andi leaves Claire in the apartment alone with no power for multiple days, with the exact time scale not determinable. When he finally returns the two have a moment of mutual dependence on each other with Claire seemingly willing to be intimate for the first time since she discovered she was trapped. This scene is the moment of transition for Claire from fighting to flee to fighting to survive and unfortunately, surviving the scenario involves accepting the role she plays in his life.

The time scale, as hinted at above, is an underlying theme in the film. With most of the film playing out during an unknown time scale, with the exception of the clear Christmas and New Years Eve scenes seen later in the film. This is an interesting approach that was perhaps used to be a commentary on the time spans that abductees are kept and how they can often be unaware that months and even years have passed. With any good abduction story, the most compelling scenes are the attempted escapes and moments of possible rescue. Each scene gets within arms length of freedom before the story is pulled backwards as Claire is literally pulled back into the apartment by Andi. As a self confessed fan of all things horror, tension building and fear inducing, I'm embarrassed to admit that I've never felt physically sick from the tension in a film before. Berlin Syndrome did just that. I left Screen One of Glasgow's Film Theatre and was happy to walk home in the fresh air in the hopes my stomach would stop doing summersaults... and yes, that was a subtle reference to Cate Shortland's other fantastic drama Somersault from 2004.