‘Afire’, a selfish novelist’s cowardly love method [TEN Review]

[Ten Asia = Reporter Ha-neul Lee]

After the burning embers that seem to devour everything die down, only dark, shapeless ashes remain. Fire, which has made human civilization prosper but can also be a disaster, has two-faced characteristics. The intense yet self-destructive fire somehow seems to resemble the deep inner self of humans.

The movie ‘Afire’ (directed by Christian Petzold), which opens on the 13th, highlights a man who throws himself into a pit of fire. In the opening, Leon (Thomas Schubert) is on his way to his country villa with his friend Felix (Langston Wiebel). The green tree beyond the window instantly distorts its shape and disappears before Leon’s eyes. The scene Leon was staring at stops when the car breaks down. Felix’s words, “It’s ruined,”overlap over the landscape and seem to have a double meaning, as if Leon’s entire view, not just the car, is broken. The two people, having lost their means of transportation, decided to walk and entered the deep forest. Leon feels afraid due to an eerie feeling that is quite different from the beautiful scenery he was just passing by. The sky where an unidentifiable roar is heard doubles Leon’s fear.

Leon, a novelist, seems lost from the beginning of the film. An unintentional accident on the way to the country villa chosen as a place to quietly finish the manuscript is an attempt to signal that Leon’s path has deviated. The villa we arrived at was littered with loose clothes and leftover food, and unlike Felix, Leon showed signs of discomfort. Nadia (Paula Beer), the being who made a mess of the villa, spends a long summer with Leon and Felix.

‘Afire’ repeatedly presents moments of miscommunication through Leon wandering outside the community. Leon, who came to finish the novel, shows a sensitive and nervous attitude because the writing is not written as intended. In Leon’s eyes, Felix’s suggestion to go swimming seems like a pathetic and meaningless game. The conversation between Leon and Nadia also resembles an arrow missing the target. Let’s go back to the meeting between the two people. Leon sees Nadia in the yard for the first time through a window inside the house. At this time, Nadia does not see Leon. Conversely, Nadia sees Leon sleeping in her yard through the window of her house. Leon and Nadia exchange glances across the window frame. This gaze is not facing each other, but is a one-sided gaze.

Descriptions of windows can often be found in director Christian Petzold’s previous works. In the movie ‘Undine’ (2020), Undine (Paula Baer) keeps looking out her window to see if her ex-boyfriend Johannes (Jacob Maschenz) is waiting for her at her cafe, but the two do not meet. separated. Meanwhile, in ‘Barbara’ (2013), Andre (Ronald Gerfield) looks at Barbara (Nina Hoss) as she goes to work, but Barbara is not aware of this. The same goes for ‘Afire’. Director Petzold defines the relationship between others and myself through a window that is like a border.

The reason why Leon and Nadia cannot communicate is because the two cannot unite or harmonize, but even with the fresh nature and blue sea behind, Leon continues to delve into his inner self. Although he clearly has feelings for Nadia, rather than expressing it actively, he shows a stubborn side by blurting out words to Nadia’s boyfriend or rejecting all offers. The same goes for the scene where Felix, Nadia, and Nadia’s boyfriend play badminton at night. Leon, who was alone in the dark, sees light coming in from outside the window. This light came from his friends’ play. Leon, who hides himself behind the curtains rather than choosing to open the window and communicate with his friends, is a self-destructive person who is confined to his own space as an artist.

Leon, who feels anxious because he cannot write a perfect novel, and Wildfire, who feels as if he will cross the border but does not, have similar characteristics. From the moment he arrives at his country villa, Leon is aware of the presence of forest fires, but he ignores them because they do not invade his space. Other than writing a novel, repairing a roof, washing dishes, or swimming are not work and are just a waste of time. The forest fire is also far away from their space, but for some reason, as time passes, the distance narrows uncontrollably. Helicopters making a roar and forest fires flying from the sky threaten space as they grow in size. Leon, who is gnawing at his inner self, strangely does not appear in the film as he writes a novel. Instead of showing signs of writing, it only shows an oversensitive attitude of worrying. The same goes for forest fires. Although it is not visible to the eye, the forest fire is closing the distance step by step in the movie.

After showing his novel to Nadia, Leon hears a harsh criticism that “the novel is trash”and cannot hold back his anger. Even the novelist’s president does not respond positively to the novel, so it is a hardship in itself. To make matters worse, the strong wind in the sea where he went to cool his head seems to be laughing at Leon as he flips his novel around. Leon’s novel ‘Club Sandwich’, written with a focus on description rather than emotion, is dry and resembles burned ashes. Leon’s selfishness, which appears to be in a state where there is nothing left other than a flame of intense heat, and cannot even understand the emotions and situations of others, is directly reflected in his novel.

Afterwards, the movie shows the tragic scene of a forest fire that took everything away. In fact, ‘Afire’ can be read as both a story of a self-destructive artist and an environmental film. Like Leon, who was not alert, it is a lament for a situation in which he clearly had premonitory symptoms but tried to ignore them. It can also be seen as a movie about a love that was suppressed and denied even though he had a crush on Nadia. ‘Afire’ focuses on the moment when a burning ember is extinguished. The forest turned into ashes and the animals died after a fire that seemed like it would never come swallowed everything up. The moment of burning means mobilizing even the moment of burning out. That’s why the fire is intense, yet scary, and that’s why it’s dizzying.

Through ‘Afire,’ director Petholt depicts youth as raw as the hot summer weather. Can we honestly reveal our raw emotions? This is the moment I remember Leon’s hesitant face in response to the director’s question.

The movie ‘Afire’ is released on September 13th. Running time 102 minutes. Suitable for ages 12 and up. 73rd Berlin International Film Festival Silver Bear Award: Grand Jury Prize Winner.

Ten Asia Reporter Lee Ha-neul greenworld@tenasia.co.kr