October 27, 2026
FILM: FATHERLAND
DIRECTED BY: PAWEL PAWLIKOWSKI
WRITTEN BY: PAWEL PAWLIKOWSKI & HENK HANDLOEGTEN
STARRING: SANDRA HULLER, HANNS ZISCHLER, AUGUST DIEHL
RATING: 3 ½ out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
Polish-born Pawel Pawlikowski was nominated for his last feature, 2018’s Cold War, and his 2013 film, Ida, won the Best Foreign Language film Oscar. He’s clearly been on a roll for more than a decade now. Earlier this year he won the Best Director prize at the Cannes Film Festival and it’s not hard to see why. Pawlikowski has an innate ability to create striking period films which explore socio-political issues as well as complex personal relationships as he does in his latest, Fatherland.
This time he begins the story in 1949 as Germany is attempting to forge a new identity after its loss in World War II. We are first introduced to Klaus (August Diehl), the son of famous writer Thomas McCann. He is in a hotel room talking to his sister Erika (Sandra Huller) on the phone. It seems they have been asked to accompany their father through a now divided Germany so he can accept an award for his work. Klaus is in a very dark place though, saying he doesn’t believe in anything anymore. Ending it all might be the answer.
Following this bleak one take opening scene, we’re introduced to Erika. She also does not seem thrilled about this journey. Dad (Hanns Zischler) is a bit of a controversial figure having left Germany in 1933 and then spending the last 16 years in the U.S. His focus is on his writing and the speeches he will be making rather than on showing any emotional concern for his children. As such, Erika spends a lot of time in quiet contemplation, seemingly consumed with hidden anger and inner turmoil.
This is where Sandra Huller, who was Oscar-nominated for Anatomy of a Fall, excels. When Erika does explode, her fierceness jumps off the screen. In one scene, for instance, she gives a sudden slap to an ex-husband that feels like it is powerfully transcending from the screen into our own faces. This is continued in other fantastic scenes, including a major confrontation with her father, which demonstrate the character’s resentments as well as the high level acting skills of the actress.
The cinematography and production design are also off the charts. There’s not a moment when we don’t feel we are in 1949 Germany. Wide and high angles shots beautifully capture the still partially destroyed buildings in the characters’ midst. Costumes as well as the stark black and white images also bring to life the darkness of these relationships and the reality of the new Germany.
Music is also interestingly used with several live performances that are either nationalistic or silly, suggesting the country’s attempt to escape from the realities of their war-torn country.
Still there is a coldness to the film and its wider issues that might seem opaque to some of its audience. Certain historical figures such as Johan Wolfgang von Goethe are major points of reference that general viewers might not be familiar with. McCann has won the Goethe Prize which, by its name, suggests the country’s tradition of humanism, philosophy, poetry, and aesthetic beauty. Of course, both East and West Germany want to embrace McCann but many people, his children included, can’t understand how a country which created such atrocious crimes could be associated with humanism and beauty. McCann enthusiastically speaks to like-minded audiences, which seems at odds with where most of the country is at during this post-war period. The upper crust of society seems to want to move on and embrace McCann and his rhetoric. Similarly, he is also at odds with his children who are still feeling the effects of war and their own sense of estrangement from their father.
It’s an interesting and probing narrative of a particular time in history that might require some pre-work to appreciate all that Pawlikowski is going for this time. However, the visuals and Huller’s performance are also more than satisfying to watch unfold.
Fatherland played at the Chicago International Film Festival. It opens in theaters this week.
FILM: FATHERLAND
DIRECTED BY: PAWEL PAWLIKOWSKI
WRITTEN BY: PAWEL PAWLIKOWSKI & HENK HANDLOEGTEN
STARRING: SANDRA HULLER, HANNS ZISCHLER, AUGUST DIEHL
RATING: 3 ½ out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
Polish-born Pawel Pawlikowski was nominated for his last feature, 2018’s Cold War, and his 2013 film, Ida, won the Best Foreign Language film Oscar. He’s clearly been on a roll for more than a decade now. Earlier this year he won the Best Director prize at the Cannes Film Festival and it’s not hard to see why. Pawlikowski has an innate ability to create striking period films which explore socio-political issues as well as complex personal relationships as he does in his latest, Fatherland.
This time he begins the story in 1949 as Germany is attempting to forge a new identity after its loss in World War II. We are first introduced to Klaus (August Diehl), the son of famous writer Thomas McCann. He is in a hotel room talking to his sister Erika (Sandra Huller) on the phone. It seems they have been asked to accompany their father through a now divided Germany so he can accept an award for his work. Klaus is in a very dark place though, saying he doesn’t believe in anything anymore. Ending it all might be the answer.
Following this bleak one take opening scene, we’re introduced to Erika. She also does not seem thrilled about this journey. Dad (Hanns Zischler) is a bit of a controversial figure having left Germany in 1933 and then spending the last 16 years in the U.S. His focus is on his writing and the speeches he will be making rather than on showing any emotional concern for his children. As such, Erika spends a lot of time in quiet contemplation, seemingly consumed with hidden anger and inner turmoil.
This is where Sandra Huller, who was Oscar-nominated for Anatomy of a Fall, excels. When Erika does explode, her fierceness jumps off the screen. In one scene, for instance, she gives a sudden slap to an ex-husband that feels like it is powerfully transcending from the screen into our own faces. This is continued in other fantastic scenes, including a major confrontation with her father, which demonstrate the character’s resentments as well as the high level acting skills of the actress.
The cinematography and production design are also off the charts. There’s not a moment when we don’t feel we are in 1949 Germany. Wide and high angles shots beautifully capture the still partially destroyed buildings in the characters’ midst. Costumes as well as the stark black and white images also bring to life the darkness of these relationships and the reality of the new Germany.
Music is also interestingly used with several live performances that are either nationalistic or silly, suggesting the country’s attempt to escape from the realities of their war-torn country.
Still there is a coldness to the film and its wider issues that might seem opaque to some of its audience. Certain historical figures such as Johan Wolfgang von Goethe are major points of reference that general viewers might not be familiar with. McCann has won the Goethe Prize which, by its name, suggests the country’s tradition of humanism, philosophy, poetry, and aesthetic beauty. Of course, both East and West Germany want to embrace McCann but many people, his children included, can’t understand how a country which created such atrocious crimes could be associated with humanism and beauty. McCann enthusiastically speaks to like-minded audiences, which seems at odds with where most of the country is at during this post-war period. The upper crust of society seems to want to move on and embrace McCann and his rhetoric. Similarly, he is also at odds with his children who are still feeling the effects of war and their own sense of estrangement from their father.
It’s an interesting and probing narrative of a particular time in history that might require some pre-work to appreciate all that Pawlikowski is going for this time. However, the visuals and Huller’s performance are also more than satisfying to watch unfold.
Fatherland played at the Chicago International Film Festival. It opens in theaters this week.