Buckle up it's a long one; I read a couple books this past month, watched some thoroughly disturbing movies (as one does in Spooky Season!) and also watched quite a few tv shows. Let me know in the comments what your October looked like.
Comment 🦊 if you watched right to the end.
Undine is an exquisite and hypnotic reimagining of the Undine myth set in modern-day Berlin.
The German romantic drama film is by one of the countries most celebrated directors, Christian Petzold and stars critically acclaimed actors Paula Beer and Franz Rogowski as lovers, Undine and Christoph. Undine had its premiere at the 70th Berlin International Film Festival, where it was shown in competition for the coveted Gold Bear Award. The film ultimately secured Beer with the Silver Bear for Best Actress for her mesmerising performance as a reluctant water nymph.
In Undine, Paula Beer and Franz Rogowski are reunited with their Transit director, and let me say this trio is magical. The chemistry between Beer and Rogowski is electric here, and I found myself completely enamoured by Undine and Christoph’s courtship. They may have a semi unbelievable first encounter where a fish tank shatters, but it certainly is an enchanting one, and that’s down to the way Petzold shoots the moment. It’s a moment full of whimsy, but it juxtaposes nicely with the rather unfortunate breakup Undine suffers at the beginning of the film.
Petzold himself said in an interview with Indiewire, “As the water pours over them, they’re lying next to each other like on a beach. They open their eyes like a rebirthing scene, wet with mud and old fish. They look at each other, and the first thing they see are the eyes of the other. That’s a good start for a love story.”
I also like the fact that their courting after this almost magical first encounter takes place in ordinary and unremarkable places, which Petzold does deliberately. In a talk with fellow German director Heinz Emigholz and NYFF program director Dennis Lim, he said he didn’t want to film the love story in romantic locations. Petzold instead opted to use ordinary spaces so that the romance can ‘bewitch’ these places and transform them from something banal to something other. He also refers to a line from a poem by Joseph von Eichendorff that inspired him ‘Schläft ein Lied in allen Dingen’ (A song sleeps in all things), which I think is a rather beautiful sentiment. You can certainly see this idea has been considered throughout the movie (and in his other films too).
The other striking thing about the use of place in the film is the links to architecture and Berlin itself. Undine is a historian who gives talks about urban development, which on its own is pretty cool. But when she talks about the city’s origin, she mentions the etymology of Berlin’s name; it means ‘swamp’ or ‘dry place in the swamp’. Therefore the city like Undine has a connection to water that has been severed, and she has, in a way like Berlin, been urbanised, transformed and separated from her elemental origin. Later in the film, she rehearses a talk in front of an enraptured Christoph (such a beautiful moment!). There she talks about the Humboldt Forum, a 21st-century museum in the centre of Berlin that was modelled on an 18th-century building that once stood in the exact same place and an architectural theory that suggests that progress is impossible. A neat bit of foreboding, which is mirrored in Petzold’s cyclical direction which features recurring motifs of mysterious Catfish sightings (more on him in a minute!) and characters returning to the same locations in search of evidence of events taking place.
Another of my favourite moments in the film is where the shot of Undine looking over Christoph’s shoulder for the poster originates. It’s simple; we follow the two as they wander along in each other’s arms, as if completely smitten and unable to be separate from one another’s embrace for any length of time. The music and the atmosphere is beautiful until Undine sees Johannes, her previous boyfriend, with another woman. The camera then sweeps around to follow them walk past, and Undine peers over Christoph’s shoulder. This signifies a turning point in the film and that despite her growing bond with Christoph, her fate is catching up to her.
So let’s talk about Gunther the catfish. He’s named after a character from the Nibelungenlied an Old Germanic text, very much like The Prose Edda and other mythological/legendary tales from medieval times. This little literary reference adds another texture of myth and mystery to the setting of the water, which as a dam is a natural place that has been industrialised. It’s an archaic place that has been transformed and acts as an intersection between the modern world and the world of mysticism, note that both Undine and Gunther reside there. This also connects back to the original romantic story by Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué, the river is so imposing in the novella that it strands characters for a period of time, however here in the modern age man has tamed the river. Petzold said in an interview that people are becoming distant from the myths and legends of the earlier years and this setting most definitely suggests that and offers us the chance to reflect on this fact.
In conclusion, I think I have found a new favourite in Undine. I love unusual romances that are sprinkled with magical realism and a sobering dash of doom. I love the performances by Beer and Rogowski, and I think Petzold has crafted such a beautiful film with so many textured layers to unpack. On the first watch, it is a whimsical love story; on the second watch, it's a meditation on time, place and autonomy…I can only wonder what a third watch will have in store for me. But ultimately, it's the intertwining of love, architecture, poetic doom and mysticism that makes Undine a film that will keep me coming back re-watch after re-watch.
I have rustled up a collection of books that I want to get through this Autumn and curiously enough they all fit together aesthetically, a coincidence (I think not!).
Set in Paris, Perfume follows Jean-Baptiste Grenouille as he tries to sniff out the perfect scent (do or don’t excuse the pun it’s your choice) to help him concoct perfumes. However, he discovers the perfect ingredient is innocence and well I’m sure you know what the only way for him to acquire it is…yes it’s murder, naturally. I feel like this is a perfectly creepy read to keep me entertained as the northern hemisphere gets colder and darker and descends into the depths of Autumn.
I have read and reread this short story collection many times but this will be my first time reading it in French. Yes, I am going to attempt to read it in French for the sake of language practice and the fact that I know the stories quite well should help my comprehension tantamount. If you’ve never read The Bloody Chamber I completely and wholeheartedly recommend it as Carter reimagines famous fairytales and folktales in such a magnetic and creative way.
I came across this book because of Anniken Jørgensen (a Norwegian Blogger and Author who I’ve been following and reading for a few years) as she frequently refers to it as her favourite book and I must say I feel like it’s the kind of book that I would like as its a bit morally corrupt and dark (go me for my weird taste in Literature!)
I recently watched the Thomas Vinterberg adaptation of this book and fell in love with the story and the Autumnal aesthetic of the gorgeous cinematography within the film. So low and behold it’s found itself quite high on my reading list as I want to delve deeper into the story and recapture the mood from the film.
Far from the Madding Crowd follows Bathsheba Everdene as she is courted by three different men, William Boldwood a respectable landowner and farmer, Sergeant Troy a 19th-century F*ckboi, and Gabriel Oak a loyal farmhand firmly planted in the friend zone.
A classic ‘Dark Academia’ book, this novel just feels like it was made for me. Set in a New England university a group of classics students test the boundaries of morality under the tutelage of a charismatic professor. When I was deciding what to study at Uni I did flirt with the idea of Classics for a while before I settled on English Lit. So for me, this novel will be even more fascinating to explore due to my interest in the subject they are studying and how that will link to the overall narrative.
The devil comes to Moscow (naturally) under the guise of being a magician and starts messing with the lives of the upper echelons of society. There is a talking cat, something to do with Pontius Pilate and a whole lot of other wacky stuff in this satirical work. An absolute classic of Russian Literature, this book has been on my shelf for aeons! And the reason why is that I know I will love it but there is a part of me that is worried that I won’t (Dune turned out to be mediocre and I thought I was really going to fall in love with it!). But the time has come and I am pretty confident that this bonkers book will be a new favourite (well, I hope anyway).
Butler is the Queen of science fiction and is criminally under-read. I myself have been meaning to read her work for some time and when I came across this beautiful edition of Parable of the Sower I knew it was time to take a dive into this iconic black authors work.
Set in 2025, in our now very near future, Parable tells the story of a hyper-empath Lauren Oya Olamina as she navigates an America crumbling due to climate change, political unrest and a growing economic wealth gap. Yikes, this feels like Butler was in communion with the future all the way back in the ’90s!!!
This book is a mammoth and that’s mainly because it is actually a trilogy of novels all compiled into one. This is a classic of Norwegian Literature and also helped Undset win the Nobel Prize in 1928! It’s a historical epic set in Medieval Norway and depicts Kristin Lavransdatter’s life as she grows up, gets married and becomes a mother.
