Anthropologists will tell you that evolution has taught us to look for chains of cause and effect everywhere, even if they don't exist. This movie examines what happens when the chain is broken. Lilli (Karoline Herfurth), a capricious beauty and a dancer of some promise, is conducting an extremely private investigation to find out why her brother Tom committed suicide. Her search is all the more pressing as she feels Tom is trying to make contact with her across the chasm of death, perhaps to settle some unfinished business. For a long time, Lilli is getting nowhere since her mother (Corinna Harfouch) has conspired to gloss over the past and cover up her pain. She hires a painter (Josef Bierbichler) to restore the way things used to be. But the painter takes sides with Lilli. If the whole family business is beyond you, go anyway to revel in Lilli's man-eating, cock-teasing, heart-stopping ways. Signature line: "You're interesting, but your jumper sucks. Are you any use in bed?" The cast is classy and the movie is as good-looking as it is well-paced, but way too long. Cut the sentimental half hour at the end, and you've got an ace.
Review of A Year Ago in Winter
