Dir/wri: Alissa Jung | Drama Italy/Germany 102′
The pain and sense of rejection for a teenage girl abandoned by her biological father is fully fleshed out in this assured feature debut written and directed by Alissa Jung, and screening at this year’s Berlinale.
Fifteen-year-old Leo has grown up with her mother in Germany, fully aware of her father’s existence. Tracking him down to a camper van on the Northern Italian coast, she is overwhelmed with anger and deep sadness. Paolo (Luca Marinelli) doesn’t recognise her, at first, although later he admits she reminds him of her mother. Fiercely protective of his youngest daughter, Paolo is weak and unappealing as a character. His lack of integrity repulses and hurts Leo, yet she clings to him hoping for the protection she never had, and feels, rightfully, jealous of his bond with Amalia yet appalled by his pathetic inability to deal with the situation, and frankly so are we.
Forced to stay in a nearby town, Paolo unable to offer her any money or accommodation, the two eventually grow closer as they spend time together, a fragile relationship developing, but always at the expense of Leo’s feelings and stability as a young girl in need of a father figure to cherishing her. In this confident performance from Juli Grabenhenrich, we get the impression that Leo is fronting up well despite the parental let-down. But deep down she is disappointed, and this shows. Clearly this will profoundly affect her as she grows into a woman and impact on the emotional relationships she tries to develop with men, although it could be the making of her. A thoughtful and accomplished first feature from the young German director. @MeredithTaylor
BERLINALE 2025 | GENERATION 14PLUS