Review of Jerichow (2009) by Walter M — 05 Oct 2010

In "Jerichow," things are not going well for Thomas(Benno Furmann) as he is forced to use the money he was planning to refurbish his mother's house to pay off his debts. Flat broke, he finds the only work he can get as a dishonorably discharged soldier is as a cucumber harvester. That changes when he helps Ali(Hilmi Sozer) pull his car out of a ditch and help him avoid a DWI charge. That does not stop Ali from drinking and driving again leading him to be caught with a blood alcohol level of 1.9%. No longer able to drive, he hires Thomas to help out with the snack bars he owns and manages with his wife Laura(Nina Hoss).

I am sure that the only thing the world needs less than the Yankees winning another World Series is yet another reworking of "The Postman Always Rings Twice"(or any remake for that matter) but "Jerichow" pulls it off well by maintaining a slow burn throughout until its devastating ending that is encapsulated in a single word. That might have something to do with the movie smartly paying less attention to the source material than the current state of affairs in Germany as seen through the eyes of its flawed characters. For Thomas, the country has changed completely since growing up in East Germany and is now a country of immigrants.(His stint as a farm laborer reminds me of a recent article in a local newspaper about how hard it is to find people willing to work on a farm.) Ali is one of the newcomers and a success to boot but still feels uncertain in his adopted country and does not know who to trust, some times for good reason.