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Lovers was the final film that I watched at the Heartland Film Festival this year: a low-key German film, set in modern Berlin, about a man and a woman (nameless) who are spending their last day together before he moves to New York City, where he will be putting on some sort of year-long art installation.
The movie has four separate parts, all interwoven together; during the Q&A after the film, the filmmaker told us that each part was filmed on a separate day. The first day, she interviewed the actor and actress in character, which gave them a chance to get to know each other and sort of build up in their minds a picture of this relationship that is ending over the course of the movie; there was a lot of improv in the movie, this part especially.
On days two and three, they filmed the break-up (which actually takes place before the last day) and an artistic set-piece in which the man and the woman stand on top of a wall, at opposite ends, and then walk slowly toward each other, ritually removing an item of clothing with each step. Presumably symbolic: as you get closer over the course of a relationship, you reveal more of yourself.
And day four was the day that they actually spent wandering Berlin, filming their last day together (both within the film and also in reality).
The film is a little more understated than is my preference, but I did enjoy this tour of Berlin aspect, and the Q&A with the director was fascinating. The Q&A with the director of Woman in Motion was great, too; next year I may make a point of trying to attend showings where the filmmaker will be present. It enriches the experience to hear someone talk about the process of making the movie.
The movie has four separate parts, all interwoven together; during the Q&A after the film, the filmmaker told us that each part was filmed on a separate day. The first day, she interviewed the actor and actress in character, which gave them a chance to get to know each other and sort of build up in their minds a picture of this relationship that is ending over the course of the movie; there was a lot of improv in the movie, this part especially.
On days two and three, they filmed the break-up (which actually takes place before the last day) and an artistic set-piece in which the man and the woman stand on top of a wall, at opposite ends, and then walk slowly toward each other, ritually removing an item of clothing with each step. Presumably symbolic: as you get closer over the course of a relationship, you reveal more of yourself.
And day four was the day that they actually spent wandering Berlin, filming their last day together (both within the film and also in reality).
The film is a little more understated than is my preference, but I did enjoy this tour of Berlin aspect, and the Q&A with the director was fascinating. The Q&A with the director of Woman in Motion was great, too; next year I may make a point of trying to attend showings where the filmmaker will be present. It enriches the experience to hear someone talk about the process of making the movie.
