DE – AT – RO / 162 min / Color / Komplizen Film production in co-production with coop99, KNM, Missing Link Films, SWR/WDR/ARTE Dir: Maren Ade Pro: Janine Jackowski, Jonas Dornbach, Maren Ade, Michel Merkt Scr: Maren Ade Cin: Patrick Orth Cast: Peter Simonischek, Sandra Hueller, Michael Wittenborn, Thomas Loibl, Trystan Puetter, Hadewych Minis, Lucy Russell, Ingrid Bisu, Vlad Ivanov, Victoria Cocias Synopsis: Winfried doesn’t see much of his working daughter Ines. The suddenly student-less music teacher decides to surprise her with a visit after the death of his old dog. It’s an awkward move because serious career woman Ines is working on an important project as a corporate strategist in Bucharest. The geographical change doesn’t help the two to see more eye to eye. Practical joker Winfried loves to annoy his daughter with corny pranks. What’s worse are his little jabs at her routine lifestyle of long meetings, hotel bars and performance reports. Father and daughter reach an impasse, and Winfried agrees to return home to Germany. Enter flashy “Toni Erdmann” – Winfried’s smooth-talking alter ego. Disguised in a tacky suit, weird wig and even weirder fake teeth, Toni barges into Ines’ professional life, claiming to be her CEO’s life coach. As Toni, Winfried is bolder and doesn’t hold back, but Ines meets the challenge. The harder they push, the closer they become. In all the madness, Ines begins to understand that her eccentric father might deserve some place in her life after all. Release Dates: 14 May 2016 (Cannes Film Festival), 15 June 2016 (Sydney Film Festival) 14 July 2016 (Germany) 20 January 2017 (Spain) IMDb Rating: 7,8.
Begoña and I have had the opportunity of watching Toni Erdmann recently. The film has been highly praised by the specialised critic and the public in general. I must say I found the film excessively long and rather repetitive. Apart from a couple of funny scenes, I couldn’t find amusing most of its jokes. But I’m certainly in minority, judging for most of the film reviews I’ve seen so far. So don’t take my word and judge by yourselves.
The Hollywood Reporter Cannes Review
A Crime is Afoot 