Fata Morgana

A slow panorama of a striking landscape. A middle-aged couple – many questions, few clear-cut answers. Created in Germany and Libya, Peter Schreiner’s film essay investigates the metaphoric search for solid ground, but in doing so the director is not trying to “extend a helping hand” to viewers in order to guide them to a quiet place. Instead he is encouraging them to exit the theater edified, like his characters, by the whole experience. Perhaps he is not even looking for answers, but this lends all the greater urgency to the questions. The philosophical tone permeates the savageness of life, as is clear from the protagonists’ movements on the screen, which Schreiner fills with unusual compositions of their facial details. And despite the fact that emotions are kept to a bare minimum, the film is able to strike at the most profound human issues, including mortality. As the title would suggest, the film allows for an experience beyond reality, while always keeping its feet firmly on the ground. (Karlovy Vary International Film Festival)