Künstlerliebe: Sometimes art just feels like a chore

Is it worth your time?

Honestly, only if you have a thing for black-and-white German dramas from the thirties. If you want high-octane pacing, run away. This is for the folks who like staring at period costumes and wondering why everyone in these movies is always so intense about their feelings. If you can’t stand theater-kid energy transferred to celluloid, you’ll probably find this thing a total snooze.

Wolfgang Liebeneiner carries this one, and he’s got that specific look of someone who is perpetually about to sigh. It’s funny, I was watching the way he holds a paintbrush, and it’s clearly just a prop. He’s not actually painting anything. It’s a tiny detail, but once you notice it, you can’t unsee it. He’s just kind of waving his hand near the canvas. 🎨

The vibe is... dusty

The dialogue moves like molasses. It’s not necessarily bad, but it’s heavy. Everything is a declaration. Nobody just asks for a glass of water; they have to make it a statement about their internal soul. It reminds me a bit of the stuffy mood in Icebound, though maybe slightly less bleak.

• The lighting in the studio scene is surprisingly moody for the era.
• Olga Tschechowa is doing a lot of work with just her eyebrows.
• The background extras in the café scene look like they were told to just sit there for six hours without moving.

There’s a moment toward the middle where the film just stops. It’s like the editor took a nap. The pacing drops off a cliff. For a solid two minutes, nothing happens except people looking out of windows. It’s weirdly hypnotic, even if I have no idea why it’s there.

I kept thinking about Destination Unknown while watching this, mainly because both films feel like they’re trapped in a room with their own thoughts. There’s a lack of fresh air here. It’s all velvet curtains and whispered secrets.

Is it a masterpiece? No. Is it charming? In a very specific, slightly irritating way, sure. It’s not the kind of movie you talk about at parties, but if you’re sitting alone on a rainy Tuesday, it’ll do. Just don't expect it to change your life or anything. It's just a movie. A dusty, old, somewhat dramatic movie.