The contemplative tone of To the Night is particularly interesting.
The director Peter Brunner has the great ability to stage a complex inner torment that is not easy to analyze in a very personal and honest way.
The inner conflict of the young Norman (a very good Caleb Landry Jones) is staged here. The man recently became a father and is in danger of destroying everything he loves. The reason for this is a serious childhood trauma: his parents died in a fire that he himself unintentionally caused.
Light and many, many shadows are the protagonists in Norman's life. The images are created with the help of fine plays of light. The protagonist's life almost always takes place at night, in public places or in his workshop, where he usually creates unique works of art. The only person who accompanies him in his moments of crisis is his brother. He, too, who has neither work nor an apartment, is severely traumatized due to past events.
In To the Night, Norman's inner conflict is staged by Brunner through close-ups and details. Everything is recorded with a shoulder camera. Prematurely wrinkled faces, slowly inhaled cigarettes, needles piercing the skin, and glances at New York City (a silent spectator of the protagonist's drama) are omnipresent in To the Night. Everything takes place here in darkness or semi-darkness.
The only moments we see faint but blinding sunlight are when Norman is playing with his son, when he meets with his lover Luna, and when he finally decides to change his life.
To the Night is an intense and claustrophobic film that is reminiscent of a stream of consciousness. A constant dialogue between Norman and his ghosts of the past, which is only interrupted when his fiancée suffers from the situation and takes care of her newborn son.
In a very personal and honest way, Peter Brunner succeeded in staging an inner conflict that is complex and not at all easy to analyze. And if the feature film seems to be almost repetitive in some moments, the situation changes immediately.
Peter Brunner's talent seems to promise us many more surprises in the future. And Ulrich Seidl noticed that too.
