BROADCASTS.com

b'Mike King talks to Christian Petzold about UNDINE.\\n\\n\\u201cIf you leave me, I\\u2019ll have to kill you.\\u201d So begins the latest film from leading auteur Christian Petzold (Phoenix, WFF 2015), a modern riff on an ancient myth about a water nymph. Undine reunites Paula Beer and Franz Rogowski, the two captivating leads of Petzold\\u2019s Transit (WFF 2018), as star-crossed lovers caught up in a whirlwind romance. Industrial diver Christophe meets Undine as she\\u2019s giving a museum tour, and their bond is sealed when an aquarium explodes over them at a caf\\xe9, showering them with water and shattered glass. This beautiful, dreamlike sequence is emblematic of the film\\u2019s ability to cast a spell through the magnetic pull of its imagery and actors. As the couple transforms one another, Undine proceeds with the eerie, enigmatic logic of an adult fairy tale. \\u201cHeartfelt and profound. Hans Fromm\\u2019s crystalline cinematography trusts the gorgeous faces of the actors enough to let a look or a gesture tell the story. Beer and Rogowski are so good, and have such amazing chemistry, that it\\u2019s hard to look away or not root for them to be together\\u201d (The Hollywood Reporter). Winner of the Silver Bear for Best Actress and the FIPRESCI Award at the Berlin Film Festival. (MK)'