Ever since my time at NYU in the East Village, the Landmark Sunshine Cinema has been one of my favorite theaters! Situated on the border of Alphabet City and the Lower East Side, it’s one of the best places in Manhattan to see indie films, and last weekend’s Kino! Festival of German Films was no exception to their eclectic programming. Read on for my highlights!
Wild (2016) Written & Directed by Nicolette Krebitz
Office Space meets True Blood in this German supernatural thriller. When a disconnected office worker sees a wolf near her office, she becomes obsessed with it, and eventually traps it to keep in her apartment. Filmmaker Nicolette Krebitz paints a ravishing picture of a repressed young girl taking a walk on the wild side.
“Ania” (Lilith Stangenberg) is having a bad year. Her grandfather is dying, she just moved to a new city where she doesn’t know anyone, and she hates her new job. After some time in this situation, Ania begins seeing a wolf in the nearby woods on her way to work. After a few sightings, Ania starts trying to trap the wolf, and in other areas of her life we can see that the wolf has triggered an increase in sexual, assertive, and, yes, wild behavior in meek, mild Ania.
After Ania’s plan succeeds, she finds that a wolf makes a pretty problematic roommate. However, she and the wolf begin having sexual encounters that would be difficult to explain to readers even without the limits of decency to think of. Suffice to say that Ania is on Team Jacob in a major way. I won’t reveal too much about the ending, but I will say that Ania doesn’t end up becoming a werewolf, which left me more than a little disappointed. (GPG: 3.5/5)
© Giorgi Plys-Garzotto (4/12/17) FF2 Media
Top photo: The Landmark Sunshine Cinema. Photo credit: Huffington Post.
Bottom photo: Just a girl and her wolf. Photo credit: Heimatfilm.
