German Currents Presents Finsterworld (2017)
Some of my favorite films begin with a group of seemingly disparate characters who are gradually drawn together into one locale for a big dramatic reveal. And when a character drops the name Michael Haneke towards the outset, the viewer knows the proceedings are bound to get dark. This particular grouping includes, among others, a pretentious documentarian, a cop into cosplay, a fetishistic pedicurist, a classroom’s worth of students on a day trip, and a mountain man whose only friend in life is a crow. Over the course of the film, two will be jailed, one will die, and one will spend a few hours locked inside one of Hitler’s ovens. You see, in director Frauke Finsterwalder’s Finsterworld (how’s that for a tongue-twisting marquee-bender?), all roads lead to a concentration camp that brings out the worst in everyone. There is so much to admire in Finsterwalder’s ambition and ingenuity that it seems a shame when happenstance rears its ugly head to guide the payoff. Still, there’s enough invention — and a powerful enough performance by Carla Juri (Wetlands) — to make it well worth your time. — Scott Marks