Berlin’s
rent control policies must be as inflexible and counterproductive as what we
have in New York. A meager studio is simply impossible for a first term law
student to find. After weeks of living in his car, Martin finally believes he
has found a livable pad, but it comes with considerable baggage, including the
landlady in Grzegorz Muskala’s Whispers
Behind the Wall (trailer
here), which
screens during the 2014 KINO! Festival of German Films in New York.
Even
naïve Martin quickly realizes there is something a little strange about Simone
Bader. The application process was a bit unorthodox, but he was more than
desperate. It turns out Bader is a borderline psycho with a ragingly jealous
lover, but she is also rather attractive. Soon, he is nearly as consumed with
her as the previous tenant, who disappeared under mysterious circumstances. He
happened to leave behind a diary that does not make for reassuring reading.
After
a series of amorous, designer drug-fueled encounters, the young student
realizes he is also slowly withdrawing from the world. Yet, he is still lucid
enough to be concerned by the suspicious behavior of Bader and her sinister super,
Herr Horn, but he is unable to forge alliances with Bader’s lover, Sebastian,
or their neighbors. At least the rent is cheap. Can we believe a sad sack like
Martin would overlook a lot of craziness, just because Bader is hot? Yes, we
can.
Whenever
a film shows us a corridor to nowhere, we can be certain this is not a healthy
living space. Theresia Anna Ficus’s design team has created two genuinely
creepy locations, evoking the spirit of several Polanski and Hitchcock films.
However, Maskula does not clearly establish the spatial relationships, leaving
us to figure out how the two respects flats could simultaneously be adjoining
and across the courtyard from each other.
Frankly,
Whispers is most effective during its
more grounded moments. In fact, there is a gleeful eccentricity fueling the
love triangle scenes Martin reluctantly muddles through. In contrast, when
things get more macabre, they also become more familiar. In retrospect, there
are also several questions left unresolved.
Regardless,
Katharina Heyer puts on a real fireworks exhibition as Bader. It is a
ferocious, sexually charged performance that devours the scenery like a
Teutonic Pac-Man. Poor Vincent Redetzki’s nebbish Martin hardly stands a chance,
wilting next to her, but Florian Panzner also manages to bring some distinctive
craziness as the mercurial Sebastian.