Wolfsburg (2007)

Directed by: Nanouk Leopold | 95 minutes | drama | Actors: Catherine ten Bruggencate, Piet Kamerman, Jan Decleir, Fedja van Huêt, Tamar van den Dop, Karina Smulders, Merel van Houts, Carmen Lith and Oscar van Woensel.

‘Wolfsbergen’ is a portrait about people who seem to have lost the ability to love each other, a portrait of four generations of a family. The atmosphere and tone of this somewhat grim and sober style film can already be sensed in the first scenes. A long shot of a forest, birds chirping in the background, images of an empty apartment, a somewhat deserted apartment building. Konraad (played by Piet Kamerman) sends a letter to his daughter Maria (Catherine ten Bruggencate) and granddaughters Sabine (Tamar van den Dop) and Eva (Karina Smulders) that he no longer wants to live. Mary reacts angrily. “I will not be provoked by that idiotic letter, it goes against nature.” Sabine, her daughter, doesn’t want to talk about it either.

‘Wolfsbergen’ is a slowly unfolding film about relationships, family ties, modern life and the lack of communication. More than you might expect from the contents of the letter sent by Konraad, we actually follow the lives of the daughter and granddaughters. Konraad’s letter hits like a bomb, but at the same time almost everyone pushes it aside in various terms. One ignores the letter to get on with one’s own life and problems.

Then, in the first half, we see a story unfold that has less to do with the subject of the letter. Here the development of the story does not seem quite in line with what might be expected, given the contents of that letter. We then follow the relationship problems that daughter Maria (Catherine ten Bruggencate) has with her husband Ernst (Jan Decleir). Maria has a thigh liposuction done and tries to hide it from her husband. She won’t let him in the bathroom (and in her bed). The situation between granddaughter Sabine (Tamar van den Dop) and her husband Onno (Fedja van Huêt) is also problematic. Sabine is having an affair with her ex-husband who has a drinking problem. Onno later has an affair with Eva, Sabine’s sister. In contrast to the other characters, Eva is a person who shows a lot of emotions (and who also has trouble with that herself).

The communication of the people in this family is minimal, but after a while this does become somewhat alienating. Since the film contains little speed anyway and at various moments there is emphatically long readings in letters and people stare at each other in silence for a long time before answering a question, there is little opportunity to build up an arc of tension and to empathize with these characters. Problems are avoided on several occasions with the answer: “I’m tired, I’m going to bed.” The screenplay does not make it entirely clear what is actually intended with this film. Is it really about Konraad and his death wish or is it about the children and their relationship and emotional problems? The storyline stalls a bit here and is more like single scenes and standalone stories that come to us. The sum of its parts is to a lesser extent a harmoniously balanced whole. Apparently the director deliberately lets us guess at the motives of the various characters behind their actions. Why does Maria take such a distant position towards her husband Ernst? We see that distance increasing and her eventually leaving the house. Why is Eve so emotional, what is behind it? It is certainly not handed to the viewer by the director on a silver platter, so it remains difficult to move the various characters and their motives.

‘Wolfsbergen’ has a strong cast with many well-known names. A great piece of drama would therefore be in line with expectations. It didn’t become real. The camerawork is careful, the colors are nicely subdued and match the image that this film evokes. The locations have been chosen with care. It’s more the spark that stays out and that should make the film catch on with you. A previous film by director Nanouk Leopold, ‘Guernsey’ received (quite rightly) many favorable reviews and a Golden Calf. With this line-up, ‘Wolfsbergen’ should have been able to extract more content, story and emotion from the story. The closing scenes are of a sober beauty in which the rituals that occur after the end of life are delicately performed and portrayed.