Undine (2020)
Directed By: Christian Petzold
Starring: Paula Beer, Franz Rogowski
Christian Petzold (PHOENIX, TRANSIT) boldly reimagines the ancient myth of Undine in this suspenseful tale of romance and betrayal in modern day Berlin. Undine (Paula Beer) works as a historian lecturing on Berlin’s urban development. But when the man she loves leaves her, the myth catches up with her. Undine has to kill the man who betrays her and return to the water. Will Undine defy fate when she meets a diver (Franz Rogowski) offering her a chance at new love?
Undine, which is based on a folk story, is one of those movies that you`ll either love or hate. Currently, the film currently holds an 88% freshness rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Undine is certainly what you would call a slow-burn film and director Christian Petzold crafts a fairytale in the backdrop of modern-day Germany. Undine is loosely based on a mythical water spirit, in this case embodied by a young professional working as a historian. This is a solid premise, and weaving themes and motifs into the lens of folk-tales and legends is something that I find incredibly interesting. It’s something that Guillermo del Toro does extremely well. Sadly, try as I might, I found this film incredible hard to connect and engage with. Petzold crafts a slow-moving narrative which feels cold, detached and alienating.
On the face of it that’s not a deal breaker, per se. However, neither the underlying fairytale aspects nor the romantic aspects come together in a satisfying way, and frankly the movie felt like a chore to get through. For example, early on in the film we get a fairly long scene of Undine giving a lecture, which nearly put me to sleep. It feels like Petzold purposely puts the viewers through an endurance test. Undine seems like The Shape of Water (2017) but stripped of the charm, whimsy and relatable themes. The film does manage to capture a palpable mood and, director of photography Hans Fromm (Yella) does a great job at giving the movie a big scope on what seems like a modest budget. Furthermore, Paula Beer gives an understated performance that works well within the world Petzold constructs.
Undine is the first film of Christian Petzold, and maybe this put myself as a spectator at a disadvantage from the start. I feel like the deep underlying themes didn’t speak to me nor did I find the movie interesting on purely a surface level. The end result is a film that is clearly made by a good filmmaker but lost me in its story and flat characters.
Before we let you go, we have officially launched our merch store! Check out all of our amazing apparel when you click here and type in GVN15 at checkout for a 15% discount!
Make sure to check out our podcasts each week including Geek Vibes Live, Top 10 with Tia, Wrestling Geeks Alliance and more! For major deals and money off on Amazon, make sure to use our affiliate link!
Big film nerd and TCM Obsessed. Author of The Ultimate Guide to Strange Cinema from Schiffer Publishing. Resume includes: AMC’s The Bite, Scream Magazine etc. Love all kinds of movies and television and have interviewed a wide range of actors, writers, producers and directors. I currently am a regular co-host on the podcast The Humanoids from the Deep Dive and have a second book in the works from Bear Manor.
