Superior workplace dramedy (minimalist Euro-Art House Division) that morphs into something considerably deeper, perhaps too deep, as a crew of overnight shelf stockers in a ‘Big Box’ warehouse grocery & dry goods store tend to their corner of the acreage before heading off after a long night of work to lives of quiet desperation. A reunified post-East Germany where every man pretty much is an island, an archipelago of lonely souls. Sounds like a downer, and much is, yet the film doesn’t play out that way. Instead, writer/director Thomas Stuber locates the same vein of wry, nimble wit found in prime Aki Kaurismäki, sans AK’s distinctive use of color & composition if not without its own playful touches: forklifts dancing thru the aisles to a Strauss waltz, Pop-Up parties & rule breaking dares. A working life held in place by the sort of low expectations you see in Ermanno Olmi (IL POSTO//’61). Franz Rogowski is exceptional as the new hire trying to straighten out his life with the regular routine of a regular job. Pleasant in his uncommunicative way, he slowly warms to older partner (and forklift mentor) Peter Kurth while managing unexpectedly deft social flirtation with unhappily married Sandra Hüller. Stuber eking out personal info thru surprisingly fast/reliable employee gossip and keeping things just odd enough to keep us off balance as he builds rooting interest. With a great physical look as a hook, it’s awfully easy to get caught up in this small drama.
SCREWY THOUGHT OF THE DAY: Take a brief lesson in the difference between Hollywood 101 screenwriting and small indie Euro-Art Films by noting what happens when a box-cutter, used to slice a little cake between Rogowski & Hüller, gets left behind after an awkward moment. In Hollywood, the forgotten blade would have been a pivotal moment leading to a career or romantic crisis. Here, it’s simply dropped.
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