21st German Film Festival 2017 (Golden Village)
The Bloom Of Yesterday
Language
German with English subtitles
Cast
Adele Haenel, Lars Eidinger, Hannah Herzsprung, Jan Josef Liefers
Synopsis
Totila Blumen (Lars Eidinger) is a Holocaust researcher who has no sense of fun – specifically when his colleagues try to turn an Auschwitz conference into a corporate-sponsored media event. In the process, they trample all over the memory of the recently-deceased Professor Norkus, whom Totila reveres. On top of all this, Totila is lumped with an intern: a very young and irritating French student named Zazie (Adèle Haenel). As she follows Totila like a puppy and engages in a fling with his boss (Jan Josef Liefers), the otherwise serious and measured academic becomes a nervous wreck. German director Chris Kraus tackles the unlikely subject of the Holocaust in his offbeat but entertaining comedy, with a well-guarded family secret thrown into the mix. Eidinger, who also starred in Personal Shopper (2016), will win you over with another memorable role in this Grand Prix winner at the 2016 Tokyo International Film Festival.