West Coast Premiere: DREILEBEN - ONE MINUTE OF DARKNESS (Christoph Hochhäusler, 2011)
Event Date: February 10, 2012 - 7:30pm
Location: The James Bridges Theater, Melnitz Hall 1409, UCLA
In the summer of 2006, film directors Dominik Graf, Christian Petzold, and Christoph Hochhäusler began corresponding with each other on the subjects of film aesthetics, the Berlin School, Germany and the film genre. Two years later they decided to continue this theoretical discussion with a joint film project: the DREILEBEN trilogy, composed of three individual stories revolving around the same “fait divers:” the escape of a convicted criminal from police custody.
DREILEBEN - ONE MINUTE OF DARKNESS, from German director Christoph Hochhausler, is the final film in the DREILEBEN trilogy. In the film, Molesch (Stefan Kurt) is serving time for a number of crimes of violence and sexual assault, but when his mother develops a life-threatening illness, he's allowed to visit her in the hospital with a police escort. At the hospital, Molesch slips away from his minders and makes a run for it, hiding from the law in a nearby forest. Determined to find Molesch before he can do more harm, the local authorities put one of their best and most experienced detectives on the case, Marcus Kreil (Eberhard Kirchberg). Kreil carefully and methodically follows Molesch's trail, but some wonder if he'll be able to find the criminal before he strikes again, and soon the police are at odds with local citizens eager for swift and decisive action.
"The crack of a twig, the chaotic swarm of an anthill, the crawl of a colored bug on a leaf, the smear of an animal’s blood on a man’s face — all of these register with uncomfortable vividness, their impact enhanced by the electronic soundtrack of hums, whirs and whines that is forever reminding us of the hearing loss of the protagonist. A strongly sensuous film." -Girish Shambu
“DARKNESS is both character study and nerve-wracking thriller, finding as much fascination in its quieter moments as it does in its vigorous chases and murders. Centering on a character like Molesch is difficult – any sort of fumble and he can instantly become an offensive caricature, thus not only dousing the plot's fire but deflating any momentum the two movies have already built up. Thankfully, the performance and the direction are spot-on, and the "villain" never overplays his behavior.” –Christopher Bell, Indiewire
“ONE MINUTE OF DARKNESS is a deft work to end the series. It contains many satisfying ‘penny drop’ moments, where storylines intersect in obvious and tangential ways. It brings all three stories together, while also leaving the film/series resolutely unresolved.” –Ben Gook, Screen Machine
Official Selection, Berlin International Film Festival
Official Selection, Melbourne International Film Festival
Official Selection, Locarno International Film Festival
Official Selection, Toronto International Film Festival
Official Selection, The New York Film Festival
Official Selection, The BFI London Film Festival
Official Selection, Vancouver International Film Festival
Official Selection, Ghent Film Festival
Director: Christoph Hochhausler
Writers: Christoph Hochhäusler, Peer Klehmet
Starring: Stefan Kurt, Eberhard Kirchberg, Imogen Kogge, Holger Doellmann, Timo Jacobs
Das Erste (ARD)/Bavaria Film International
HDCam, 88 min.
