Homesick (2015) Reviews

• A defining movie on the subject of paranoia

  Horst_In_Translation2017-02-05

  There's something strange in the neighborhood. Or is there really? "Homesick" is a German/Austrian movie in the German language written and directed by Jakob M. Erwa and I must say I am shocked he is the main driving force behind these almost 100 minutes because I watched his most recent film not too long ago and it is a disastrous mess while this one here from 2015 is close to a masterpiece. This is mostly thanks to lead actress Esther Maria Pietsch, who really is the heart and soul of a movie. She plays a talented musician who has a huge performance ahead of her and needs to practice for it as much as she can. The pressure is immense and it doesn't take long until her health deteriorates from the entire situation. She feels constantly observed by her neighbors, one old lady in particular and the fine line between reality and paranoia quickly fades away. Even for the audience, it is really difficult to understand what happened in fact and what happened just in the protagonist's head, for example the scene with the two undertakers. Or the cat and its collar. And there are many more examples. No need to list them all. I also think Tatja Seibt is very good in her supporting performance. The male supporting actors admittedly have very little to work with (Lier and Beyer), but they still make the most of what they have to their characters. I read somewhere else that there is certainly a connection to Polanski's "Rosemary's Baby", even if the characters are clearly different and unique. New apartment, central female character who feels haunted by her neighbors and the role of them stays unclear until the very end. The great revelation as in Polanski's film is missing here, but that is perfectly fine as I feel they chose the more realistic way in terms of the truth. And I was wondering throughout the entire film if they are really stalking her or not. Talk about gang stalking. Anyway, the very final shot puts a bit of a question mark behind what happened the 10-15 minutes before. Was it all just in the girl's head. Or is there a genuinely evil unkillable force present in the house. It's not clear, but it offers also room for discussion and that's always a good thing. So like I said before I thought this was a really great watch. I also liked the reference back from the very first scene and the ending, which is a bit of a frame for the entire movie. Pietsch and Erwa turn this into one of the best (German) movies from 2015 and I highly highly recommend you to check it out. If you like psychological thrillers with a touch of claustrophobia, then it is an absolute must-see. In my opinion the ending of it all, the almost ending, is exactly what could happen and what we would read about in the paper. The film feels so authentic and realistic all the time and I never had the impression there was something in here that just did not work out or that felt included for the sake of it. What are you waiting for. Don't miss out.

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