He
is sort of like an East German Sherlock Holmes. His powers of deduction and
persuasion are so keen, some of his atheist materialist colleagues think he “has
the shine.” Unfortunately, he does not use his talents for the purpose of good
in Paul Philipp’s chilling short film, The
Peculiar Abilities of Mr. Mahler (trailer here), which screened
during the 2017 Fantasia International Film Festival.
The
case of the disappearance of young Henry Kiefer is threatening to become an international
embarrassment for the GDR, because his relatives in the West are making noise
in the press. The Stasi wants the Kiefers to sign off on his bogus death
certificate to end the matter, but so far, his parents are hanging tough. Enter
Mr. Mahler, whose keen powers of observation immediately rattle the distressed
Kiefers.
Philipp’s
film directly addresses particularly horrifying crimes of Stasi, but explaining
the details would spoil the film’s big revelation. Instead, we will safely say
life under socialism in the GDR was even worse than you realized.
Frankly,
Peculiar Abilities is about the
tensest twenty-nine minutes of cinema you can hope to see all year. Credit is
equally due to Philipp’s tight, claustrophobic execution and André Hennicke’s
powerhouse portrayal of the titular Mr. Mahler. It is a quiet but emotionally
violent performance that will deeply and profoundly unsettle viewers. Hennicke
is absolutely unforgettable, but Jasmin Schwiers and Matthias Lier are also heart-breakingly
effective as the distraught and destroyed Kiefers.
