Was du nicht siehst (2009) User Reviews

A slow and atmospheric, almost cryptic movie that is really thrilling and haunting...

[zumrunterladen · 7/10 · 13 July 2012]

The pace is incredibly slow, in fact, but in this case this is an extremely good thing. The dialogue is limited, but very strong, and somehow cryptic, like the whole movie is. The film resists the constant pressure of "Hollywood cinema" and its commitment to a clear solution.

The focus of the story is the 17-year-old Anton who goes with his mother Lucy and her new boyfriend Paul to Brittany on holiday. After the suicide of his father some time ago, silent reproaches between mother and son have accumulated, and the unprocessed griefs prevent a new relationship between them.

In this situation he first met David and Katja and he is more and more fascinated by them with their aura of suppressed violence and sexuality. They seem to embody all his negative psychological parts that have been suppressed. Increasingly fascinated by both, Anton gets into a confusing maelstrom of events.

The movie is really really thrilling, though not much happens, at least not at first glance, but for me the film is really haunting. The only downside is that the characters and their relationships to each other remain visible as a construct. The result is that the characters seem artificial, and it remains difficult to identify with them.

Overall a pretty good movie, that is worth to see.

Dull story with an empty script and weak story.

[sallybergsteen · 1/10 · 1 July 2012]

Beautiful scenery and a fitting musical score accompany a weak and empty script. The film features good acting and attractive people. Set on the French Brittany coast, a mother;Luzia,her boyfriend Paul and her son Anton take a vacation to a cottage near the coast. Anton meets a very odd fellow David. This is where the story loses credibility. David is unpleasant and weird. He enjoys subjecting Anton to odd practical jokes, is violent and ominous. Anton nonetheless hangs around with David and his attractive sister Katja. The pace is incredibly slow. Dialogue is limited and weak. This is a empty script on a weak story dragged out for nearly two hours. Overall a dull story.

I don't see a lot here

[Horst_In_Translation · 4/10 · 22 May 2017]

"Was du nicht siehst" or "Sommerspiel" or "What You Don't See" is a German/Austrian co-production from 2009, so two more years only until this one will have its 10th anniversary. This is the most known work by writer and director Wolfgang Fischer, but that means nothing as he only made only one short film before this one here and that was back in 2001. But perhaps his new 2017 movie (the first since 2009) will make a difference finally. He sure is not very much on the prolific side. Anyway, taking this lack of experience into account the cast is somewhat spectacular as at least four people here will certainly be known to fans of German films. The movie runs for slightly under 1.5 hours and is described as an "impressive psychological thriller", but I cannot take this description seriously at all. There is nothing impressive about this film sadly. It slowly moves forward without anything happening really, anything of interest. Now that would be okay if they actually managed a decent character study instead, but this is also not the case. it tries to be the latter, but without success. Then they have the character of Frederick Lau bringing in the occasional cheap thrill and that's basically it. Yes the scenery is somewhat impressive, but this alone is absolutely not enough and it makes things even worse if they are relying on that while coming oh so short in other areas really. On a subjective note, I just don't see lead actor potential in Trepte and his effort here definitely did not change my opinion on him. It's somewhat baffling how long and successful his career already is compared to other young German actors with more talent who are struggling to find roles. Anyway, Trepte probably cannot be blamed as much as Fischer here as he is the big driving force behind this film and as such also behind it ending up as a disappointment. It is not a failure, but also not a good film by any means. Entirely forgettable from start to finish. Fits in very nicely with the pretentious title. Watch something else instead.

Strange and haunting psycho-drama

[Falconeer · 8/10 · 27 September 2012]

Ludwig Trepte stars as Anton, a teenager who travels to a remote seaside village with his mother, and her new boyfriend. We find out later that his father committed suicide, though it is never explained why. In fact, very little is explained in this dreamlike and haunting film. Anton soon meets a very mysterious brother and sister, who are involved in an incestuous relationship. The three teens form a tenuous bond with each other, but the brother and sister sometimes seem to only want Anton around to manipulate and control him. Katja is a bit more sensitive, but David is an obvious sociopath with violent tendencies. And that is the setup for a film that is as quiet and slow moving as a summer holiday by the sea. The film has a similar style/feel to the films of French director Bruno Dumont; slow, languid tales of young people whose isolated surroundings seem to remove them from reality. The cinematography is absolutely beautiful, and Ludwig Trepte's performance is intense and believable. He is one of the most important young actors working in Germany these days. In fact he is the reason I sought this film out. Recommended for those with a taste for something other than Hollywood fare. and don't expect this tale to wrap up neatly either. In fact, "What You Don't See" features one of the most strange, and cryptic endings I have ever seen in a film.

Warning to animal lovers

[fred-287 · 21 April 2015]

The only character I actually liked in this movie is a dog, who meets an unfortunate demise which is mostly off camera and, I guess, "relevant to the plot," but it does sour my memory of this brooding Teutonic mood piece. A sallow little punk named Anton has apparently largely withdrawn from the world since he found his suicidal father's body in the tub a while back---or that's what he says happened; one of the messages in "What You Don't See" seems to be "If you don't see it, don't take it for granted--or even if you do see it." His mother and her current squeeze have dragged Anton off to the remote northwestern French coast for a vacation, where our lonely lad meets a neighboring duo of similar age who may or may not be brother and sister, and whose own father may or may not be dead, and who may or may not even exist themselves. (Whenever there's a character who's only ever seen by one other character. a warning bell should go off...) Over the week of the vacation (although it seems to last longer) Anton participates in various youthful hijinks with the uninhibited pair and becomes less inhibited himself, becoming downright uppity with his mother and prospective stepfather. Eventually some bad things happen (which the local cops basically blow off, since that's their function as movie hick cops) and Anton and now just his mother head back home, where presumably he'll eventually become the next famous-for-fifteen minutes German mass murderer, like that pilot who flew the plane into the French Alps. What "What..." chiefly has going for it is director Wolfgang Fischer's ability to make the French coastal area look like a foreign planet, which (along with some nice atmospheric choral music) lets one follow along with the dreamlike ambiance. But in hindsight all I can really focus on is the dying dog. Herr Fischer, in the future please restrict yourself to hominid victims. A note on the English subtitles: When a character occasionally tells another to "Hau ab," which in the German vernacular means "Beat it" or "Get lost," the subtitle renders it as "Piss off," a largely British expression. The other subtitles don't seem particularly directed at a British audience, so it's a little puzzling. The Germans have a lot of words relating to bodily functions such as urination---not surprising, given that they're toilet trained virtually at birth--but "abhauen" isn't one of them....