Fact: Few, if any, melodramas are enjoyable. Okay, so maybe that’s not a universal truth, but it is an opinion I hold strongly enough to call a fact with stubborn certainty. However, after seeing Ina Weisse‘s feature-length directorial debut, The Architect, a reconsideration of entertainment value for this emotionalistic way of story-telling is in order.
To be fair, when mention of the word melodrama arises we usually tend to think of actors and their exaggerated pantomimes, not so in the case of The Architect. Though the story gets blown out of proportion, the all around exceptional toned down performances reign in all the absurd situations to which this script ventures into.
Turns out there is more to german family life than naked family meetings in the bathroom while mom showers, dad shaves, and brother takes a piss. Did I mention that the brother, along with his sister are both in their 20s? Call me conservative, but my family was never this close. Showing the Winter family interact so casually with each other while in the buff one would think this clan has nothing to hide. But, when the countryside village where George’s (father of the household) mother is being buried gets snowed in, the appropriately named Winter family have no choice but to face a flurry of unresolved issues, mainly George’s infidelity, his illegitimate son, his other son’s hatred towards him, and the fact that his mistress is the only one who knows he is progressively dying. Wow, sucks being you, George.
Like I mentioned earlier, despite the obvious soap-operaesque plot progression of this German-aired television film, I still never had that feeling as if I were viewing a Days of Our Lifes episode. Due to its luscious cinematography and superb ensemble acting, The Architect‘s foundation remains firmly rooted in cinema. By far, I can see this film’s enjoyability being appreciated a lot more in a theatre as opposed to the screener copy I saw on my 27″ tele.
Showtimes for Der Architekt (The Architect):
Saturday, January 15th, 2011 @ 7:00pm (Castro Theatre)
