I've now seen half a dozen of Christian Petzold's contemplative melodramas, and it's remarkable how consistent they are. His latest, "Afire," is set in the present day, but has a fable-like, portentous quality to it, similar to his previous "Undine." Far too topical wildfires are a major thematic element, threatening the small tourist town on the Baltic Sea, where our story takes place.
I'd classify "Afire" as a romance, but the film is really more of a character study of the protagonist, Leon (Thomas Schubert), a young writer in crisis. He's agreed to come to the seaside, at the invitation of his friend Felix (Langston Uibel), intending to spend time working on his latest novel. They arrive at Felix's parents' holiday home, only to discover that they'll have to share it with someone else - a young woman named Nadja (Paula Beer) is already living there for the summer, and frequently has her boyfriend Devid (Enno Trebs) over at night. Felix is happy to cohabitate, but Leon finds this situation unbearable.
I think everyone has met someone like Leon before. Some of us have even been this guy. He's one of those socially awkward, deeply insecure types who is constantly making excuses not to socialize. His physical appearance and his background clearly have something to do with it, but the matter is never addressed directly. The one thing Leon can do is write, which he uses as a justification to be arrogant and ungenerous, imagining himself as better than those around him. He's so self-centered and thinks so much of himself that he inadvertently says hurtful things, gets jealous over anyone else getting attention, and fails to notice what's going on with the people closest to him. All of the other characters around Leon are in the middle of stories we only get glimpses of, because our POV stays with Leon, and Leon isn't paying attention.
However, that begins to change as Leon takes an interest in Nadja. Self-reflection is not an easy process, and Leon flounders mightily before he starts to make an effort to recognize both what's wrong with his writing and what's wrong with his own way of seeing the world. Nadja is perhaps kinder to him than she should be, but that's mirrored by the attitude of the whole film, which sees something in Leon worth reforming. I greatly enjoyed Thomas Schubert's performance, which gives Leon a childishness and a sadness that keeps him sympathetic, even in his worst moments. Paula Beer is lovely and enigmatic. There's a fine balancing act going on between how Leon sees her, and the woman she actually is. It's wonderful to gradually learn about her background and her situation - things that Leon is too dense to ask her about in a straightforward way.
The film unfolds slowly, but deliberately, first acclimating us to this seaside community under the looming threat of disaster, then establishing all of the characters and their relationships, and then following Leon as he muddles through his attempts to connect with Nadja and work on his novel. Petzold is always so adept at capturing these elliptical encounters, where things almost happen, or are about to happen. The visuals are so evocative and their significance is so clear, even if the symbolism is murky. The absence of someone has just as much impact as their actual presence. The tone of "Afire" is more humorous and tragicomical than I was expecting, because Leon is such an exasperating mess of a person. However, I don't think that Petzold is ever making fun of him for his pretentions, remaining remarkably empathetic to Leon throughout his bumpy journey to enlightenment.
Finally, I want to take issue with some of the marketing I've seen for "Afire," which has erroneously described it as a gay romance or some kind of apocalyptic disaster story. These elements are important parts of the film, but "Afire" is a thoughtful drama about a struggling writer, first and foremost, and the actual romantic relationships are largely happening in the background, along with the forest fires. And this is a film that is so good at being what it is, I feel oddly defensive about it being mistaken for anything else.
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