Aloys (2016)

Directed by: Tobias Nölle | 91 minutes | drama, fantasy, science fiction | Actors: Georg Friedrich, Tilde von Overbeck, Kamil Krejcí, Yufei Li, Koi Lee, Sebastian Krähenbühl, Karl Friedrich, Peter Zumstein, Agnes Lampkin, Rahel Hubacher, Haroldo Simao

In ‘Aloys’ the viewer follows the namesake of the film, a somewhat unworldly young man who follows unsuspecting people with his amateur camera. Aloys is a private detective. He investigates other people’s secrets and problems. But, as it goes in the genre, he himself is the biggest problem.

The first part of ‘Aloys’ shows us a main character who purposefully isolates himself from the people around him. Not only from a perceived professionalism for his profession, but also from an inability to communicate that stems from loneliness. Little by little, Aloys’s problems are revealed through his silence. This gives the character something pleasantly enigmatic.

One reason for Aloys’ loneliness is the recent death of his father. It was his father who taught him the intricacies of the detective trade as a senior partner in their two-man firm. Until his death, Aloys looked after the old man in their cramped brown-colored apartment. They were a two unit. He has not yet been able to cope with the death of his father.

He seems to have easier contact with animals than with people. They share their love of silence. It ensures that the other residents of his flat largely leave him alone, although he is often the object of their gossip. Thus his life proceeds in full regularity. In the background, however, there is constantly tender, melancholic music. The viewer knows: there’s more going on here.

This is revealed when, in a careless mood, overcome by grief over his father and excessive alcohol consumption, his camera and film material are stolen. All that is left is a recording in which he himself can be seen. The roles have been reversed. Not only for the perpetrator, but also for the spectator. “Aloys” isn’t about the people he’s investigating. He himself is the subject of observation. For the characters, but especially for the voyeuristic movie viewer. That’s cleverly done.

Over time, the rover contacts Aloys and holds up a serious mirror to him. He is a pünktliche, somewhat dull German. Someone who puts empiricism above imagination, lives like an animal in its cage and looks at the outside world with a fearful look. To get his things back, he will have to open up and say goodbye to his strange loneliness. And above all, learn to love. So that he can truly call himself free.

The weather conditions in ‘Aloys’ are always bad. Misty rain gives the image a blue haze. It is atmospheric, but not in a way that is common in the detective film. Here it is not an expression of tension, but of inner drama. The detective work in ‘Aloys’ is measured against a psychological yardstick.

The narrative symbolism is strong, but the effective images are just as good. ‘Aloys’ is beautifully filmed, especially because of the interaction between image and sound. Tight, still shots give room for interpretation. The details are tight, also in sound. The madness, which is slowly taking over Aloys, is portrayed in an extremely insightful way through all this. Because he comes so close to the viewer here, the mirror that is presented to him is also that of the viewer. Therein lies the greatest strength of ‘Aloys’. After all, don’t we all live in a cage these days?