Gewalten

Forces

The life of the meek and patient 14-year-old Daniel, who only wants to please everyone, is characterised by violence and emotional coldness. His domineering brother uses him to run errands and leaves him to care for his terminally ill and bitter father, who longs for his own end but does not dare to commit the final act himself. In the forest, Daniel meets Marcel, an outcast who has returned to this isolated village after many years away and ekes out a living organising dog fights. Both are receptive to the comforting silence of the forest and share a strong affinity with nature. This unites them, and Daniel believes he has found a friend.

Filmed in long, carefully selected shots, "Gewalten" depicts with merciless consistency a harsh, loveless world that appears to exist beyond time or geographical location. Daniel endures his dashed hopes and the humiliations by his emotionally stunted fellow human beings in a stoic manner, as if he is determined to avoid becoming just like them until the last – even if that means surrendering to raw nature in the end.

Source: 72. Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin (Catalogue)