Unter dir die Stadt (2010)

Directed by: Christoph Hochhäusler | 110 minutes | drama | Actors: Robert Hunger-Bühler, Nicolette Krebitz, Mark Waschke, Wolfgang Böck, Corinna Kirchhoff, Michael Abendroth, Angelika Bartsch, André Dietz, Paul Faßnacht, Alexandra Finder, Piet Fuchs, Stefan Gebelhoff, Johannes Kiebranz, Antje Lewald, Viola Pobitschka, Stefan Preiss, Robert Schupp, Nadja Stübiger, Heike Trinker, Van Lam Vissay, Alexandra von Schwerin, Klaus Zmorek, Oliver Broumis, Frank Voß, Julia Domenica, Robert Menke

Clinical film with a slightly mysterious undertone about an affair between a bank manager and the wife of one of his employees. The two protagonists are absolutely evenly matched: the ruthless banker Roland Cortes (Robert Hunger-Bühler) and the opportunistic Svenja (Nicolette Krebitz) play with fire when they embark on an affair that seems to be based mainly on lust. Gradually it appears that their mutual attraction is not only based on lust, but that they recognize the same character traits in each other. Both are manipulative, want what they see and are willing to lie and cheat to achieve their goals. Perhaps that is the explanation why Svenja is willing to risk her – apparently – loving relationship with her husband Oliver (Max Waschke) for the elder Roland, but the film sometimes also hides other hints. Both have things to hide from their past: Svenja lies about her resume, Roland comes up with false childhood memories. Did it ever start as a game, but over the years it has become a force of habit?

‘Unter dir die Stadt’ does not provide easy answers, but does raise questions. It works for a long time, but as the playing time continues, it increasingly resembles a trick of the makers. However, the actors ensure that the film does not derail, but still remains fascinating. After Svenja’s initial refusal to get involved in the affair, Roland manages to use his position as CEO to have her husband Oliver sent to Indonesia. Oliver thinks he has been promoted, but what he does not know (yet) is already known to the viewer: his predecessor was kidnapped and murdered there because of the business that the bank does in the Asian country. With this Roland goes a lot further than just having his “rival” out of the way: he puts Oliver in a position where he may be in physical danger. This premise is very reminiscent of the Biblical story of King David, who seduced Bathsheba and placed her soldier husband Uriah at the forefront of the battles with the Ammonites. Although the intrigue in this film ends differently, the parallels are there.

The Frankfurt am Main where the film is set is coldly portrayed as a city of glass and concrete, without a soul, where everything revolves around (earning) money. However, the business deal that part of the subplot revolves around does not seem to interest director Hochhäusler that much (despite the fact that he wrote the screenplay with Ulrich Pletzer himself), so that the story tilts too much towards the affair between Roland and Svenja. This means things have to be straightened out too abruptly as Roland’s business problems surrounding the deal grow in importance towards the end. Hochhäusler does manage to visualize everything visually. With this beautiful camera work, strong non-verbal scenes and of course the acting talent of Hunger-Bühler and Krebitz, Hochhäusler manages to compensate for the weaknesses in the screenplay. ‘Unter dir die Stadt’ mainly succeeds in evoking a certain atmosphere, in which the viewer mainly gets the feeling that the characters are above all lonely. In any case, enough alienated from their environment, with Roland for some time and with Svenja especially after Oliver left.

This is where the previously mentioned mysterious surface comes to the fore. Quite a few questions remain unanswered. Some viewers will find that annoying, but the makers know how to make it intriguing. There are a number of strange events, which do not fit into the bigger picture, which underline Svenja’s impulsiveness (such as a woman’s careless acceptance of a pill in a restaurant toilet) and Roland’s sometimes irrational behavior (such as watching a drug addict injects). In any case, it seems irrational, because it is never made explicit why. Not to mention the alienating final scene, about which many speculations are possible. The film thus remains partly a mystery, because events and motives of the protagonists are difficult or impossible to interpret.