"Nachmittag" or "Afternoon" is a German 95-minute movie from 2007, so this one has its10th anniversary this year already. It is definitely among the most known films by writer and director Angela Schanelec, who has been in film for a really long time now, also as an actress. She performs in front of the camera in this one too. The cast here does not include any big name actors from Germany at all. The one who may come closest to that description is probably Mark Waschke who may be known to German film buffs for some of the other films he appeared in, so this is far from his most known movie. Still the fact that the film is far from forgotten probably also has a lot to do that it is based on a play by the truly famous Anton Chekhov. IT is a really really slow-moving film and I would agree that slow is not necessarily a negative statement. However, if you make a film where relatively little happens like this one here (and I believe you will agree with this description), then you need to make up for it in terms of other areas, so it needs to be a quietly convincing work with subtle writing from start to finish that still manages to make a difference and keep the characters interesting to the audience. The way the characters are written and the depth they (do not) possess is absolutely crucial in turning such a slow and bleak film nonetheless into something special. Overall, I would not say this has been achieved here. I would say though that the atmospheric take is nicely handled and here and there we also get a good moments involving the characters and story. But it simply isn't enough for a full feature film and most of all the production values and acting were just mediocre at best. I give "Afternoon" a thumbs-down. Not recommended.
Review of Afternoon
