Helene Brindel is an unhappy housewife. One day she hears a piece on the radio that she likes. Neuroscientist Eduard Gluck talks about not being able to sleep as a child because of the trains that rode right behind his house in an interview. His mother sat with him and they both listened closely to the trains and he discovered that the trains were rattling his name: Eduard E. Gluck, Eduard E. Gluck, Eduard E. Gluck. Helene, who can’t sleep herself and also wants to think other thoughts, buys the professor’s book and meets him at one of his lectures. They drink coffee together, meet to have dinner, and a few more times after that whenever Helene is in Hamburg. Their first encounter consists of one of the most interesting and strangest dialogues that contemporary cinema has to offer. Helene isn’t one for small talk. She is direct and asks the professor about what matters to her: the loss of faith. Professor Gluck isn’t big on talking about god and his humorous attempts bounce off of Helene. “You don’t have to help me to relax. I don’t relax anymore,” Helene says. “I know what we need: modern dance,” says Gluck and takes her to a Finnish dance performance. It isn’t Helene’s cup of tea and yet a bond between them is formed, possibly a lifeline. Gluck is moved by Helene’s honesty and confides in her: he has a porn addiction. Director Sven Taddicken adapted a novel by Scottish author A.L. Kennedy and successfully transported it to Germany and has found two actors, Martina Gedeck and Ulrich Tukur, who embody Helene and Eduard’s multifaceted dysfunction phenomenally.

Hendrike Bake (INDIEKINO MAGAZIN)

Translation: Elinor Lewy