Lenz is a 2006 Swiss feature film directed by
Thomas Imbach
Thomas Imbach (born 1962) is an independent filmmaker based in Zürich, Switzerland. With his production company Bachim Films, Imbach produced his own work until 2007. He then founded Okofilm Productions together with director/producer Andrea St ...
, based on the narrative fragment ''
Lenz Lenz may refer to:
Places
* Lenasia, Gauteng Province, South Africa, a township often called Lenz
* Lantsch/Lenz, Canton of Grisons, Switzerland, a municipality
* Lenz, Hood River County, Oregon, an unincorporated community
* Lenz, Klamath County, ...
'' by
Georg Büchner
Karl Georg Büchner (17 October 1813 – 19 February 1837) was a German dramatist and writer of poetry and prose, considered part of the Young Germany movement. He was also a revolutionary and the brother of physician and philosopher Ludwig Büchn ...
. In the film, the character of Lenz, played by
Milan Peschel
Milan Peschel (born 1968) is a German actor. He appeared in more than fifty films since 1999.
Selected filmography
References
External links
*
1968 births
Living people
German male film actors
{{Germany-actor-stub ...
, is a filmmaker facing a personal and artistic crisis. ''Lenz'' was screened at the
Berlin International Film Festival 2006 in the "Forum" section. It was also shown at festivals such as the Melbourne International Film Festival, the
Vancouver International Film Festival and the Bafici in Buenos Aires.
Plot
The eccentric Lenz is in a life crisis. He leaves his home
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
in order to explore Georg Büchner's fragment "Lenz" in the Vogesen. Soon, however, he travels to Zermatt in the Swiss Alps to see his nine-year-old son Noah. With his help, he organises a meeting with his ex-wife Natalie, whom he still loves. However, the illusion of family life is short-lived due to Lenz's strange behaviour. Noah and Natalie return to Zurich, and Lenz remains alone in the mountains.
Reception
The
Berner Zeitung said that Imbach tells "the story of a driven explorer of life, a love story without a way out, the tender picture of a father-son relationship" and sheds light on "the absurdities of the fashionable tourist resort" of Zermatt. In doing so, he puts the
Matterhorn "in a new light" and makes it "a main character" that tells "about nature and the difficult nature of man". In addition, Imbach succeeds in making "one of the most sensual 'Heimatfilme' for a long time."
The Filmdienst, on the other hand, judged that "
spite the subject matter", "the direction and the exalted acting of the lead actor do not allow for intimacy", but "keep the viewer at a distance". This is also helped by "numerous breaks in the staging", which are "at the same time to be understood as ironic sideswipes at the excesses of mass tourism in Switzerland".
References
External links
official websitepress dossier Berlinale* {{IMDb title, 0756676, Lenz
2006 films
Swiss drama films
Adaptations of works by Georg Büchner