Willenbrock

I saw the new German film ‘Willenbrock’ at the German Film Festival and, as yet, has not received a commercial release.

Where to fit this in on the radar map?! A corker of a psychological drama with the thriller element in it as well.

Alex Prahl gave a towering, seminal performance as the lead character, East German Willenbrock. Willenbrock is set up as a tough, hard hearted businessman who has his life firmly under control. He owns a flourishing used car dealership, has a lovely wife, and owns a house in the suburbs as well as one in the country. His very comfortable life starts to unravel when members of the Russian criminal element stage attacks on his dealership as well as his home. His wife is freaked out by the attacks, and Willenbrook’s marriage is put under further strain by his continuing promiscuity, including his fervent pursuit of a pretty but fragile university student.

Scenes from the film come flooding back, the strength of which comes down to showing the characters’ stark vulnerabilities. Two scenes that come to mind show Willenbrock cruising down the highway with the radio going full blast and him pretending to be Joe Cool. The other scene that comes to mind is the scene where Willenbrock has taken his young University student to his weekender to seduce. There’s a perfectly captured moment where we see the young woman looking out from the living room as Willenbrook is coming in the garden, contemplating the situation she has found herself in.