Four people end up staying in a house near a small beach town as wildfires rage around them and their personal lives intersect in this moving yet emotionally stilted drama from German writer/director Petzold. Afire is centred around Leon who is self absorbed and misanthropic making the film's edge a bit uncomfortable throughout, on purpose, as it is hard for us to like our protagonist and yet the film makes us identify with him at the same time. This creates the discomfort, along with the looming wildfires, that make Afire so interesting and also just so confounding.
Afire is the sort of film where things happen very slowly and then very quickly and then slowly again which adds a jarring feeling to the film which is already prickly. Its tone changes and we can feel the pain of seeing Leon resist what could so easily make him happier. But that's not the plan Afire has for our hero. It does give him his resolution but only at the cost of most of those around him making his journey even less satisfying for the audience. Yet it all still feels so honest and perhaps reveals a lot more about how our own journeys often go.
I enjoyed that Afire didn't give us an easy protagonist to care for or appreciate, and also that it made us identify with him. This can be a very difficult balancing act and Petzold nails it along with his cast, especially Schubert and Beer in the leads. Afire will feel challenging due to its structure and point of view. And not only is that okay but it's provoking.
Afire/Roter Himmel
Starring: Thomas Schubert, Paula Beer, Langston Uibel, Enno Trebs, Matthias Brandt
Writer/Director: Christian Petzold
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