User reviews

Christian Petzold is a big name in German cinema, but his new film "Undine" is doing not so well in the IMDB rating. Having seen the film I wondered why, because I found it fascinating. There are a couple of explanations.

The first one is that the regular admirers of Christian Petzold were disappointed. Was he not one of the main directors of the "Berliner Schule" and was he not supposed to make socially critical movies in stead of a mix of romance ad fantasy? Petzold himself put the "Berliner Schule" in perspective in a recent interview and said that it were just a couple of directors who happened to attend the same school at the same time. Of course they were influended by there teachers, but that was all. They were and remained different type of directors.

The second explanation is that "Undine" is very hard to follow without prior knowledge of the legend on which "Undine" is loosely based. This is true. See the following information as necessary foreknowledge and not as a spoiler. Creatures who are half fish / half woman can be divided into two categories. The good ones are called Mermaids (the German fresh water synonym is Undine) and they come out of the sea to love a man. The bad ones are called Sirens (German fresh water synonym Lorelei) and they are luring men into the water. Undine is good but in the story of Friedrich de la Motte Fourqué (1811) she is dependent on her male lover for a soul. When this male lover is however unfaithfull he has to pay with his life and Undine returns to the water.

Mermaids often are male fantasies. They are sexually mature but mentally very naive. In "Undine" Petzold portrays a slightly more female friendly version of Undine. This is however not attributable to Paula Beer, the actress who is the female lead in the last Petzold films and is a worthy successor of Nina Hoss. It is attributale to her two lovers. The first lover (Johannes played by Jacob Matschenz) is the wrong one, who sees a relationship as a transaction. The second lover (Christoph played by Franz Rogowski) is the right one, who sees a relationshipas as a journey of discovery. He even postpones sex to a later stage. Because of the logic of the de la Motte Fourqué legend the affair with Christoph is intense but nevertheless tragic.

Even knowing the de la Motte Fourqué legend makes the film not very easily comprehensible. What is for example the relationship between the death of Johannes and the resurection of Christoph? After the lights go on there is some time needed to "digest" "Undine". For some this is annoying, for me it is the confirmation of quality.

Greetings again from the darkness. German filmmaker Christian Petzold has a track record of creating thought-provoking, intelligent, and ambitious films such as BARBARA (2012) and TRANSIT (2018). This time out he re-teams his TRANSIT co-stars Paula Beer and Franz Rogowski in a film that's more fable or fairy tale than conventional storytelling. If forced to label, we might go with Fantasy-Romance-Drama-Mystery, which really means the film doesn't easily fit into a known genre.

The film opens with a very uncomfortable break-up scene between Johannes (Jacob Matschentz) and Undine (Ms. Beer). When he says they are done, she responds, "If you leave me, I'll have to kill you. You know that." While researching the name Undine, I stumbled upon the 1811 German fairy tale of a water nymph Friedrich de la Motte Fouquet, which clearly inspired Petzold. The story has some similarities to "The Little Mermaid", itself a Danish fairy tale originally written by Hans Christian Anderson. It helps to know all of this upfront to prevent some of the frustration that goes with deciphering what is real and what is imagined.

As one would imagine, water is a recurring element throughout - beginning with Undine's chance and unusual café meet-cute with Christoph (Mr. Rogowski). The two find themselves attracted and connected after being drenched. Christoph is an industrial diver, so water is a part of his life ... as is 'Big Guenther', the legendary giant catfish he spots while on a job. Undine is a historian who holds sessions for tourists during which she recounts the architectural evolution and urban sprawl of Berlin over the past centuries, by utilizing scale models of the different eras. We also learn that "Berlin" means marsh, or a dry place in the marsh ... yet another water-related aspect.

Ms. Beer, who was so good in FRANTZ (2016) and NEVER LOOK AWAY (2018) continues her fine work, and reuniting with her TRANSIT co-star, Mr. Rogowski (VICTORIA, 2015) works out beautifully, as they have a nice rapport. Mr. Petzold's film has a supernatural element and is dreamlike at times, and though I've used the "fairy tale" description, it's clearly a very high concept film for grown-ups ... and there is enough humor ("Stayin' Alive by the Bee Gees) to offset the doomed relationships and Undine's return to her natural element. It's quite a trip for those who are up for it.

In theaters and On Demand June 4, 2021.

It was my first movie in 2021 and it made me cry alot .. I loved the expressions of the actors .. i think it is the beauty secret of the movie .. i loved the way of loving and looking of each others .. the movie is a trip .. you shouldn't reach something of the end .. only enjoy the scenes and the emotions in it .. the reptition of some scenes with another emotions it was great. I love the movie so much even if it looks boring .. but it's not boring at all .. it makes space for me to see all the details with love.

As with much of Christian Petzhold's work, UNDINE connects storytelling with myth -making more than with most filmmakers. Undine is a mythical European legend about a water nymph (over time it has morphed into mermaids, selkies etc.). As is often the case in his movies, Petzhold uses specific details and settings to ground his tale. Here, it's modern day Berlin.

Our Undine (the terrific Paula Beer) is a historian and part-time tour guide for the city's planning bureau. By happenstance, a local industrial diver, Christoph (Franz Rogowski), catches one of her lectures and a relationship begins. As expected, the pair's union is an unusual one. It's not long before Christoph takes Undine for a dive in what he assumes will be HIS comfort zone. There are some beautiful underwater sequences in the movie and they subtly reveal Undine's true nature.

To his credit, Petzhold (who also wrote the screenplay) never underlines to the viewer that this is an ancient fairy tale. The viewer is expected to participate. The lectures which Undine gives about the emergence of a unified Berlin after the fall of the Soviet empire are all about uniting the two different world views, and can be read as symbolic of the central relationship here. Beer is entrancing and again shows why she is one of Europe's rising young stars (she won multiple awards for her performance). Rogowski, who teamed with Beer memorably in the Petzhold's previous TRANSIT, has a burly but, vulnerable masculinity. Hans Fromm's cinematography is fine and the classical musical selections are appropriate (with an assist from the Bee Gees!).

Still, like his other outright fantasy, YELLA, there is something a bit missing from Petzhold's script. That film took it's cues from the cult classic CARNIVAL OF SOULS (1962), and here, some may detect a certain kinship with Val Lewton's masterpiece CAT PEOPLE (1942). Original legend and possible homage aside, UNDINE has to work on its own as a drama, and on that level it's slightly disappointing. The various threads, as good as they are at times, never quite fully connect. UNDINE is certainly worth seeing, but, it's not quite up to Petzhold's high standards.

... and that shape can be pretty much whatever you want it to be which, depending on your interpretation, might be as hot as a kettle or as cold as ice, a sinker or a floater, completely cloudy and obscure or gin crystal clear. Beautiful performances all round, elegantly performed, imaginative and, in my view, water worth testing, if for no other reason than to test yourself..

Very well played by the main cast, but not necessarily deserved Golden Bear for best actress. Nice underwater shots and a warm story about love, deception, hope and destiny. Not so much a must-see and not necessarily A-festival Competition material, but enjoyable to watch.

Watched at Sydney film festival Continues this directors rewarding output. Plenty to put the mind across especially if you know something of Berlin. Definitely available for several rewarding viewing to unravel these fine actors and the story they build.

I also enjoyed the history lessons as they also reveal things about undine, and provoke thoughts about Berlin the stage for this movie. I enjoyed the way the camera brings us to the characters and we never tire of its lens. It's so easy to be mesmerised by the leads faces and gestures.

Can't wait to watch again Bravo Christian!

The strength of petzold is his combination of reality and illusion, the present and history, creating a strong literary emotional image to capture the real, create illusion and make people intoxicated

Loosely based on the 19th century novella of Friedrich de la Motte Fouque about an aquatic spirit who must marry a knight to gain a soul, but has to kill him if he is unfaithful, German director Christian Petzold's ("Transit") Undine weaves a tale that skirts the edges between romance and fantasy. Reuniting the stars of "Transit," Paula Beer ("Never Look Away"), winner of the Silver Bear Award at the Berlin Film Festival and Franz Rogowski ("A Hidden Life"), the film seems like a risky departure from the director's recent work about people caught in the traumatic events of contemporary European history, yet it propels his ideas about timelessness and the notion that the past is always present, even though the form may change.

Set in present-day Berlin, a city that was ironically founded on water, Undine, opens a door to the past with its repetition of the lovely Bach's adagio from his Concerto in D Minor. Beer is Undine, a free-lance historian and museum guide who lectures international groups on Berlin's Urban Development project located on Berlin's Museum Island, connecting the city's ties to its past. In particular, she talks about the city's Humboldt Forum project, a partial reconstruction of the demolished 18th century Berlin Palace, explaining that the castle was demolished during the Socialist era and is now being reconstructed.

Without prior knowledge of the fairy tale, which Petzold may assume we all know, Undine's nature is unclear. She looks and acts human, although there is strangeness about her silences and long, penetrating looks. According to the director, "she is a little bit like a ghost, like a phantom." Petzold does not reveal Undine's true nature but clues to her real self emerge when her aloofness and seemingly robotic manner begin to define her presence. In the opening scene, Undine sits outside a Berlin café with her boyfriend, Johannes (Jacob Matschenz, "A Regular Woman"). Johannes threatens to leave her for another woman but is reminded that if he leaves her, she will kill him. Only a half hour later, she runs into Christoph (Rogowski), an industrial diver who has a warm, outgoing personality and Johannes is temporarily forgotten.

After an aquarium tank explodes, they lie together on the floor in a pool of water, dead fish, and broken glass, staring into each other's eyes. As he picks pieces of glass from her blouse in a scene that is romantic, surreal, and comic, his caring gives her a sense of what it feels like to be loved. Of course, the irony here is that he works underwater, while she, a water spirit, lives and works on land. Though their romance is real, Petzold declared, "They were like two dancers who get very close, but like in tango, they still keep a certain distance, which shows the respect they have for each other."

The chemistry between them is strong, however, and their relationship can be enjoyed with or without knowledge of the story's mythological roots. Working underwater, after confronting a giant catfish ostensibly without fear, Christoph sees Undine's name displayed on an ancient arch deep beneath the surface and takes her diving on their first date to see her name. She momentarily disappears before floating to the surface, her diving apparatus stripped allowing Christof to further bond by resuscitating her. According to legend, if Undine returns to her roots, she must remain there. She is, however, a rule breaker who is not beholden to either legend or men.

Undine is challenging to unravel but in its essence, it is a tribute to the strength and independence of women or, as a recent popular song might put it, to "the power of love." As Petzold describes it, "Struggling against domination, Undine exists only through men. Then along comes a man, a proletarian, an industrial diver, who interferes with the curse. He is not suspicious; he's innocent and for the first time seems to see her primarily without any sexual desire and without wanting to dominate her. This is new for her, and a path to a new world seems possible."

Half the screen time is spent being lectured about the history of Berlin while looking at little scale models of the city. The other half a not very convincing romance.

If it's suppose to be a play off of the mythological female mermaid type being that falls in love with a human there was no indication or explanation of that for viewers; not that it would have made any difference in this story.

Undine works as a historian in Berlin, in the urban development department. One day, the man she loves leaves her, and the legend behind her name reappears.

For a better understanding of this film it's necessary to know the origin of Undine (a mythical being/entity associated with water). The film message takes on another meaning with that.

Undine is a mixture of lucidity and logic with fantasy and unknown, which effectively represents human behavior. I found it interesting how Petzold combines something that is boring and monotonous in itself, like talking about urban development in a city as rich in history and tragedies as Berlin, with mythology, in a modern and captivating vision.

Paula Beer and Franz Rogowski make a fantastic duo. In short, Undine is a modern fairy tale, where women has the dominant role, and where they manage to unleash their strength and resilience.

I had mixed feelings on this film. Paula Beer is very good in the lead but without the background information that it is based on a German fairy tale, it makes little sense. Undine (Beer) works as a lecturer at a museum and those scenes are unnecessarily long. She meets up with a boyfriend and tells him not to leave her with nasty threats. A scuba diver enters the picture and a giant catfish is part of th story without any explanation. I was disappointed in the ending and I cannot recommend this movie.

I didn't feel any connection to the plot. It is slow and boring. I was not impressed by it.

If you haven't read up on it, you may struggle to unravel this. Frustrating watch, lost interest towards the end when I couldn't even get close to what was happening.

Come as you are, as you ... sorry for some reason I was thinking of a rock song. Which probably has nothing to do with the movie (though who am I to say what the makers of this thought or what any viewers may think when watching it). That aside, I just knew while watching it, that this is one of those movies that is prone to get awards and nominations.

I would not claim that I got everything they throw at us (reality, dream and messages throughout), but I can attest to that this is very well made and will be viewed by those who really love it multiple times. There is so much to discover. And not just the extras in the background (one of whom I know personally) or even the history of Berline or its structure - although you could develop a fetish about the latter and I would not be surprised.

So this love drama mystery has its own pace - roll with it or don't waste your time

"Undine" is a Drama - Mystery movie in which we watch a woman being rejected by a man and she has to kill him and return to water otherwise the ancient myth will come true.

I found this movie very interesting because the main subject and the idea came from a myth but it was presented from a different perspective. The interpretations of Paula Beer who played as Undine Wibeau, Franz Rogowski who played as Christoph, Jacob Matschenz who played as Johannes and Maryam Zaree who played as Monika were very good and their work together created this beautiful result. Lastly, I have to say that "Undine" is an amazingly interesting movie and I recommend everyone to watch it because I am sure that you will find it very interesting and you will enjoy it.

The movie that made me fall in love with Berlin, which I went twice and couldn't love. A modern Romeo + Juliet story from the Germans. A visual and auditory feast.

A film with a unique spirit that breaks down the prejudices of "Germans can't make a love movie" and "German is not an emotional language".

Creative and intriguing take on the Undine myth takes its time to unravel its mystery, but keeps one intrigued by Paul Beer's alluring performance and some good underwater cinematography.

Actually, what the title says. After half hour of watching this movie, i realized i was doing a serious mistake but it was already too late to search something else to watch. So i kept watching until the end. Don't do the same mistake.

The hugs were too intimate and the background music complemented that superbly. We always think, after the breakup life is over. But the life is full of wonders. There is so much hope. But we worry. Thats the human nature. But we always screw things up. Kinda shadowing the things that will happen in movie, that was a nice touch. We have to live with the things life throws at us. But something will always be the last straw. Unimaginable moments happen everytime. We have be kind. All that matters. Even when we move forward we tend to look back. The love which could have been. Is that agood thing to do, I guess not. This is total vibes film. Wont suggest it to others.