Nö

Brüggemann is a festival name I remember thanks to Stations of the Cross, and when I see it in the programme I pay attention. I would not recommend him to devote his creative time to comedy in the future, though, German is not a funny language and it takes a lot of feeling for a German film to be really funny instead of just awkward – as far as I can remember, perhaps only Maren Aden in Toni Erdmann was successful. Brüggeman, unfortunately, was far from it. It has bad timing, a weird theatrical stylization that makes the German seem even more artificial and dry than if the characters were speaking normally, and when it does manage a laugh-out-loud moment once in a while, it's due to a lack of sense of proportion, like the shock at the ultrasound, which is repeated four times to be sure, probably so it wouldn’t go unnoticed or something. (25/08/2021)

Quelque chose me dit que cette réaction va s’écrire toute seule. Est-ce que les deux heures de projection de « Nö » se sont vite écoulées ? Nö ! L’humour sec allemand offert ici m’a-t-il au moins un petit peu amusé ? Nö ! Me suis-je pris d’intérêt pour les personnages et leurs problèmes ? Nö ! Recommanderais-je ce film de façon universelle et à tout le monde ? Nö ! Mais histoire de ne pas faire que me plaindre, je mentionnerai un passage correspondant à l’un des treize chapitres que j’ai trouvé vraiment drôle et bien articulé, à savoir celui de l’enterrement. Mais bon, ce n’était qu’une petite pointe d’enthousiasme dans une histoire relationnelle autrement aride et en apparence interminable. Cela étant dit, une bonne partie de la salle riait sans arrêt, donc j’en conclus que c’est plutôt un film qui ne convient pas à tout le monde. Alors, est-ce que je lui donnerai une deuxième chance ? Eh bien… Nö ! [KVIFF 2021] (25/08/2021)

If you are not 30-something and don’t have any kids, this would probably be a waste of time for you. No plot, extremely dry comedy that lacks chemistry between characters, with utterly awful music and it’s more like marriage guidance counseling session than a movie. The jokes are often absurd, simply nonsense… I must honestly say that, to my surprise, half of the cinema was having fun, a quarter was sitting there dumbstruck, and the last quarter actually walked out. (25/10/2021)