Film
Transit (12A)
Dir. Cristian Petzold, Germany, 2019, 102 mins, subtitled.
Cast. Franz Rogowski, Paula Beer, Godehard Giese.
Main Language: French, German
Pioneering German director Christian Petzold (Phoenix, Barbara) returns with this experimental historical thriller about Georg, a German refugee fleeing persecution from Nazi-occupied France by assuming the identity of a recently deceased author. We meet Georg as he escapes to Marseille, a port for migrants fleeing an unspecified war. He has adopted a dead man’s identity, and while waiting for a boat, meets a mysterious woman desperately hoping for news of her missing husband. Described as “like a remake of Casablanca as written by Kafka”, past and present is infused to fascinating effect, offering a haunting, beguiling depiction of fascism and the struggles faced by refugees. This is a film about ghosts, memory, trauma - and the longing we all have for a place to call home.
Cast. Franz Rogowski, Paula Beer, Godehard Giese.
Main Language: French, German
Pioneering German director Christian Petzold (Phoenix, Barbara) returns with this experimental historical thriller about Georg, a German refugee fleeing persecution from Nazi-occupied France by assuming the identity of a recently deceased author. We meet Georg as he escapes to Marseille, a port for migrants fleeing an unspecified war. He has adopted a dead man’s identity, and while waiting for a boat, meets a mysterious woman desperately hoping for news of her missing husband. Described as “like a remake of Casablanca as written by Kafka”, past and present is infused to fascinating effect, offering a haunting, beguiling depiction of fascism and the struggles faced by refugees. This is a film about ghosts, memory, trauma - and the longing we all have for a place to call home.
