VATERLAND

After the dissolution of the GDR Kadir finds himself once again completely uprooted. Having spent the recent past stranded as an Algerian contract worker in East Germany, he is subsequently confined in a mental hospital for the following two years. Upon his release he learns that his German wife has filed for divorce and refuses to allow him to have any contact with their child. On the spur of the moment he abducts the two-year-old and sets off with him on a journey to the south, a journey which ultimately remains aimless. The locations with which he finds himself and his son confronted prove to be inner landscapes consisting of apocalyptic settings and unsettled, taciturn people.

With his feature film debut Uli M. Schueppel succeeds in combining concrete historical processes with archetypal figures and universal situations. The oppressive mood is enhanced by the rigorous camerawork of Ciro Cappellari and the association-rich soundtrack from Mick Harvey (Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds) and Alexander Hacke (Einstürzende Neubauten). In the words of the director "films that say everything are not my thing. FATHERLAND offers no solution. FATHERLAND is an outcry.“ CL