52 Films by Women Vol 4. 6. ALL GOOD (Alles ist Gut) (Director: Eva Trobisch)
All Good (Alles ist Gut)
is the debut feature of thirty-five-year-old, East Berlin-born writer-director
Eva Trobisch. It deals unsentimentally with the aftermath of a rape. Set in
Munich, it tells the story of Janne (Aenne Schwarz) whose publishing business
with her partner, Piet (Andreas Döhler) has just gone kaput. Their
prize-winning author has left them and they have no money to continue. At the
start of the film we see them consult a lawyer to wind up their firm. They also
decorate a house, an inheritance. Janne attends a class reunion where she chats
to Martin (Hans Löw). She takes him back to the house where she is staying with
the intention of letting him sleep in a spare bed. He attempts to rape her in
the kitchen. At a certain point, Janne bangs her head. You might think this
would stop Martin – but it doesn’t. He finishes inside of her and leaves.
Punkt.
At the same time, Janne is offered a job in a more
established publishing company by an older friend. She accepts much to Piet’s
chagrin. However, the new job entails her seeing more of Martin. Martin is
married.
Then Janne discovers she is pregnant.
In contrast, her new employer and his younger partner want
to conceive. He offers the observation: ‘people think having a younger lover
makes you feel young. In fact, it makes you feel old.’ The inference is
precise: being older means you have less energy to deal with the challenges and
opportunities you had when you were younger. Satisfying a person taking their
first journey into life when you’ve done it all already takes a lot of work.
There is an awkward meeting on the street between Janne, Piet
and their star author. Piet is furious. The author is timid. Janne acts as
peacemaker. Her relationship with Piet is under strain. They break up.
There is no way that Janne can have the baby. She arranges
an abortion. However, for it to be carried out, someone has to collect her from
the clinic - a named person. Janne cannot leave by herself. In the end, Piet is
contacted.
The announcement seems hideously cruel. Of course Janne
wants to keep the abortion secret. She does however tell Martin. Martin doesn’t
accept that she should abort.
In one striking scene, Janne finds herself ringing on the
doorbell of a man who won’t answer. To ensure that he does so, she undresses
outside the front door and posts her clothes through the letterbox.
The abortion takes place. Martin hears about it. There is an
unexpected twist – a tragedy. Janne finds herself taking a train without a ticket,
being confronted by inspectors and saying that she must complete her journey.
The final scene, when she commits to an infraction and wants to follow through,
oddly, ironically mirroring Martin, is jaw-dropping.
All Good is a psychologically astute film. It deals
matter-of-factly with the taking of opportunities regardless of the hurt they
might cause. Janne retains our sympathy throughout. We understand her turmoil
in the final scene, how she wants to deny wrong doing.
The film is also presenting a truism that women are more
often raped by someone they know, someone who doesn’t believe that he is a
rapist and that he is acting on feelings that they both share. It isn’t a
transaction. Martin does not blackmail Janne: to have sex with him or else. The
rape is banal.
Janne is lively and boisterous in Martin’s company prior to
the rape. However, this isn’t a signal. In any case, Martin’s knowledge that
both of them are in ongoing relationships ought to be an inhibitor. However, he
just gets carried away.
The film also cries out for a change in the treatment in
Germany of women who are assaulted and need to terminate a pregnancy. There
ought to be a service for collecting people from clinics: a designated female
driver. In Germany, all abortion is illegal, but it is permitted within the
first twelve weeks of pregnancy if the woman agrees to receive counselling.
All Good is not a film that is intended to inspire debate. It
is a study of a woman under duress and how her unborn child results in a
disorderly exit. It reminds us of how messy life is and how badly things can
turn out even as one tries to keep things together.
Reviewed at Stockholm
International Film Festival, Sunday 18 November 2018, Zita Screen One
Comments
Post a Comment