2015

Director: Akiz

Genre: Mystery Drama

There's a scene in this film where all the characters suddenly talk in English. 

It's a German film, if that's not apparent from the title. All of the dialogue, except for this one scene, is spoken in German. Now, this makes logical sense, because the characters are in a high school English class. But the scene felt very strange for me. It didn't feel like a class. Everyone spoke too naturally and effectively. 

So, is this scene meant to confuse and mystify the audience? Is it merely a normal scene that they chose to be spoken in English because of the setting? Or, say you were in a dream. Would you think of your English teacher as always speaking in English? Are these characters individuals, or are they filtered through the main character's perspective? 

I tend to enjoy movies that don't offer up all the answers. Der Nachtmahr is certainly one of those. It sets up all the pieces to the puzzle and allows us to decide how they fit together. But these movies do depend very heavily on the quality of the filmmaking, and whether or not the film feels like it has a point it's trying to make. Luckily, the direction is all very effective and it feels like the film is telling a story, as apposed to a series of unconnected imagery. 

The movie is a blur of teen life from the perspective of a girl (Tina) about to turn eighteen. She lives with her parents, goes out to parties with her friends, and is attracted to the DJ at these parties. She never seems to be very comfortable with her surroundings, never fits in with the group, doesn't know what she wants in life, and it is possible that she is going slowly insane. 

Tina is on her way to a party. She's shown a picture of a fetus that her friend morphs together with a picture of Tina. At the party, a boy shows her a video of a girl being hit by a car. Later, she sees something in the bushes, gets scared and attempts to leave the party. As she goes to retrieve her necklace, Tina is hit by a car, which is shown in the same video footage she saw earlier.

Then, she wakes up at the party after apparently passing out. She successfully leaves the party this time, but starts to be haunted by a small fetus-like creature. She later finds out that she's connected to this creature, and when it cuts itself, she also gets injured. She has strange nightmares, finds out her parents want to have her committed, becomes increasingly isolated from her friends, and slowly warms up to the presence of the creature. The film ends with Tina showing the creature to a large crowded party. They all recoil in horror as she picks up the creature and gently holds it. Her parents arrive, attack the creature, she blacks out, and wakes up in a car with the creature driving her away. 

So, what the hell was all that? The issue is that every possible theory seems correct. For example:

Naturally, Tina has a mental illness, represented by the creature. The end shows her finally slipping away from reality as her friends and family look on in sadness and horror. 

Naturally, Tina died at the beginning, and the rest of the film exists in a sort of purgatory. The creature represents her ability to move on and accept her demise. 

Naturally, the movie is completely metaphorical, and the entire premise is a coming of age story about a girl trying to accept her own identity. The creature represents how fragile she feels. 

Naturally, the movie is just an extended dream sequence. We are shown Tina's emotional state through exaggerated metaphorical expressions of creatures and teen life. 

Naturally, everything is meant to be taken literally. The creature is a real entity that became mysteriously connected to Tina. Her friends are family are too scared to accept something so different. 

One of these might sound more realistic than the others. I'd highly recommend watching the movie for yourself and pondering what the film is trying to convey.

In conclusion, this film was surprisingly memorable, emotional, and engaging.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️