Submergence (2017)

Directed by: Wim Wenders | 112 minutes | drama, romance | Actors: James McAvoy, Alicia Vikander, Alexander Siddig, Reda Kateb, Jannik Schümann, Celyn Jones, Andrea Guasch, Godehard Giese, Jess Liaudin, Mohamed Hakeemshady, Harvey Friedman, Jean-Pierre Lorit

The genius of a film, the sum of its parts, is hard to put into words. Sometimes it just isn’t there; Casting, direction and script, for example, can give hope independently of each other, but together they do not make sense. Why, however, would Wim Wenders (‘Paris, Texas’) not be able to make a formula film, a romantic thriller or something? With James McAvoy (‘Last King of Scotland’) and Alicia Vikander (‘Ex Machina’), you should be able to get through, right?

There is chemistry between the charming James and the intense Alicia, but the sterility of the dialogues and the unclear narrative structure soon betray a lack of urgency. Both main characters are introduced separately – she an oceanographer, he an obscure sort of agent in Africa. Why get to know each other with endless academic discussions, if the viewer has already seen that she prefers his sweat smell to his vocabulary? Then you get a so-called ‘talking script’.

The actors try their best, but don’t seem fit for the film. Or vice versa, it’s the same. The above does serve a purpose, there is a difference in education level between the sophisticated Danielle and the angular James; no need to rub it in: ‘show don’t tell’. It seems that the author Wenders wanted to put his substantive stamp on a studio product that is more about passion for the fire than pretensions or commitment.

The careers of both lovers are finer rather than essential, and that is of course a matter of concern. Interesting that Danielle with reading glasses on submersible floats through the Atlantic Ocean; It’s terrible that James with his six-pack is being tortured by jihadists in East Africa, but then the film is already halfway through, the usefulness is unclear and the young, promising love is lost. “Love has no limits,” says the DVD cover. The tormented lovebirds miss each other, but they have no story.