FILMS… Next Door / Nebenan (2021)

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The actor who lives next door…

 

Daniel – an actor – waits in a Berlin bar for his taxi to the airport. There he learns a few home truths after bumping into a man who lives in his neighbouring apartment block.

 

NEXT DOOR | Official UK Trailer [HD] | Exclusively On Curzon Home Cinema Friday 01 Oct, Curzon and photos © warner bros pictures

 

Firstly, let me tell you a true story… It all begins with a woman –  who will remain nameless – who had a bit of a crush on a charismatic and much-loved American actor. This actor in the name of confidentiality I will rename, Paul Rudd. She heard that Mr Rudd – the object of her affection – was not only filming in her town, but he was renting a house not far from her home.

So this woman and her then small (possibly starstruck) son rushed as fast as their wee legs could carry them to the gates of his rental home. This was simply in the hope of seeing Paul Rudd, her Hollywood idol. But to be fair, how often do you get to see Paul Rudd in the flesh rather than on a wee or big screen? This I believe – knowing this woman – Rudd’s one-time near neighbour – very well – was not the act of a deranged stalker, but one of a slightly adoring fan…

Everyone wants to see Hollywood (and beyond) glamour in the flesh. I am sure most of us have dreamt of that big-name star moving in next door. Personally, I dream of speaking perfect French and then meeting my new neighbour, M. Alain Delon. He invites me in for coffee after complimenting me on my Purple Noon / Plein Soleil / Talented Mr Ripley (1960) review.

Then over his coffee and my cake, we watch his movies together and laugh at his more amusing tales about the time he filmed The Concorde: Airport 1979 (1979) / Airport ’80: The Concorde (1980). Delon explains how his pilot character, Metrand could afford to pay for such a highly priced prostitute for Joe Patroni and much more.

Over time, we make this a regular thing and meet and swap life stories (which I don’t tell the Press), try not to judge each other on our (possibly) bad music taste and much more. All the time I’m mindful of the tenuous line, between being a good neighbour and sounding like a creepy stalker.

Next Door / Nebenan (2021) explores these subtle differences in this predominately two-hander drama comedy movie. This foreign language film is mostly in German with some spoken Spanish and English. All of these languages are spoken by the multi-lingual leading actor of this film, the genial leading German-Spanish actor from Good Bye Lenin (2003), Daniel Brühl.

In this 2021 film, Brühl is in the role of “Daniel” an actor, but his character is only partly based on Brühl’s reality. For the most part, it is a more heavily imagined version of an actor, father and husband who is also called Daniel. This film was also directed and co-written by this actor and Daniel Kehlmann. These two writers creatively poke fun at Brühl and some of his filmography in this unique, quirky and historically-based film which has as much to say about Berlin’s history as the nature of celebrity.

The film begins as we see Daniel (Brühl) at home in Berlin. Home for Daniel is his luxurious modern two-floored penthouse with glass facades that have views of Prenzlauer Berg and beyond. His home is accessible by its own private lift. Daniel lives with his doctor wife, Clara (Aenne Schwarz) and their two young children.

We immediately feel like we are prying into a day in the life of this actor. As we enter his life through this glass wall, we see him use his rowing machine. He takes a shower and then we watch Daniel choose a shirt from his super organised-looking walk-in wardrobe. He packs his overnight suitcase and has a super-healthy breakfast. Daniel is clearly super neat and a bit of a health freak. (I’d like to think the real Brühl is a bit of a slob who drinks instant coffee and eats chocolate-covered cereal with full-fat milk. But I digress).

With a big casting call later that day, Daniel – to his frustration –  has been allotted just one page from this script and we watch him practice his character’s delivery. He plays with his kids and looks like a fun dad. He chats in Spanish with his nanny, Conchita (Justine Hirschfeld) about this casting call which he’s travelling to in London later that day. He’s been practising for a role in a Darkman movie, and this explains those impromptu performances we saw earlier. Daniel says his goodbyes to his drowsy wife, Clara (Aenne Schwarz) in their bedroom saying he’ll see her the next day. Then he leaves for the airport.

His driver to the airport has arrived early, and he sends this driver politely on his way. Using a phone headpiece Daniel quizzes his German personal assistant, Mattis about the role he is auditioning for. He discusses his research preparations for a possible future role as Beethoven. Mattis doesn’t know anything more about his Darkman role and tells him he doesn’t know anything as it’s all top secret. Daniel asks him to contact Ada, in his continuing quest to find out more about his character and motivations to help in his audition for the superhero film.

Daniel plans to avoid the busy airport lounge and tourists in the cafes. He makes his way to the local “dive”, Zur Brust (Mother’s Milk). This pub is run by a pleasant middle-aged barmaid, Hilde (Rike Eckermann), who jibes about her knowing Daniel’s celebrity status in a friendly manner. The pub is aptly described HERE in Allan Hunter’s Screen Daily article, as,

…a mixture of Cheers and the kind of tavern that might fit right into an Aki Kaurismaki film.

This pub is empty apart from one middle aged punter, who is half slumped at a table and this drunk heckles everyone randomly. Ada phones Daniel, and he speaks to her – via his omnipresent headpiece – in plummy accented English. Ada knows nothing more about his character with Daniel now expecting a call from Arden, a Darkman crew member.

A middle aged local, Bruno (Peter Furth) enters the pub and sits at the bar counter. This man continually stares at Daniel. Bruno asks for his autograph, and Daniel politely offers his signature. But this man is now in charge as it’s Daniel who has to get a pen and something to sign on. Bruno then uses this signed napkin as a coaster for his drink.

The men talk about how much Daniel gives in his performance at the audition, immediately these men have polar views. Bruno says he believes Daniel gives far too little in his acting. After Daniel signs an autograph for Hilde’s wee nephew and promises him some merchandise, Bruno offers Daniel a beer. Daniel initially refuses (as he doesn’t drink before auditions) then takes a gulp out of politeness.

Bruno orders him the pub’s speciality dish despite the actor’s protests. Bruno is a bit of a film buff and he goes full-tilt critic, as he explains reasons why he doesn’t like Daniel’s sentimental “Stasi” film. Bruno dissects this movie, believing the crew was mainly East Berliners and criticising Daniel’s insincere performance. Daniel is polite and corrects him about the former and with a note of sarcasm reflects on his performance as an actor as he responds to the latter. Bruno talks more fondly about Daniel’s first movie with the director, Morten Grün, for a while anyway.

After Daniel retreats to a table alone, two awestruck women pass the pub window. These fans see Daniel and then join him. They ask him about his TV Series and want a photo with the actor. Bruno takes this photo and they go on their way.

Bruno then unnerves the actor as he knows the time of his flight, joking that as a “Stasi” man, he knows everything. Bruno asks Daniel if he recognises him, and Daniel asks if he lives in his building. It turns out that they do share a building, but this man stresses Daniel lives in his building as Bruno has lived there longer.

He tells Daniel that has a perfect view of this actor’s life from his window, and that he now “can’t look away”. Bruno continues to unsettle Daniel as he says his home is situated behind Daniel’s penthouse but his building does not have a penthouse, has stairs and is unmodernised. He tells Daniel that his packages are usually delivered to his flat (but are then collected by their now mutual friend Mattis).

It’s explained by this man as he continues to play with Daniel – like a cat with a mouse – that Bruno and his father lived in this block before Daniel moved in. His father lived in Daniel’s flat before the Berlin Wall came down. Sometime after the wall came down, his father was forced to sell this flat at a low price to a developer after he had an “accident”. His father then moved in with him. The developer then modernised the flat and rented it to the (richer) actor at a huge profit. The actor is naturally apologetic, saying he didn’t know about these matters.

Bruno, in a matter of fact way says he knows all about the comings and goings in Daniel’s home, as he has a direct view. As they discuss jobs, Bruno says works nights at a bank verifying accounts (after being retrained after the Berlin Wall came down), so he knows about Daniel and his wife’s bank transactions. This naturally angers the actor, as this man shows him that he has evidence of Daniels’ wife’s infidelity.

He then tells Daniel that he saw his nanny slap his son when he was misbehaving. But he knows this occurred as she was tired, as she had to work longer hours. This was Conchita’s birthday and also the same day that Clara spent the night with his director, Morten in a hotel. Bruno shows Daniel all the relevant transactions to prove this as fact. Daniel leaves the pub upset, but he is drawn back…

The man believes he is being a good friend in telling Daniel about his affair, as this happened to Bruno. This revelation about Clara clearly upsets Daniel, who cries in the pub bathroom. But that’s not the only dirty little secret that Bruno has dug up… as tells this actor what else he’s discovered in Daniel’s bank records, and of those times he’s been in this actor’s flat, to help Mattis out when Daniel’s family have been away…

When we meet Daniel we enter his life through a large glass wall of his home and private space, this divide possibly symbolises the brittle nature of his celebrity on the big screen. We see him at first on his apartment side of this glass wall, and this actor is multilingual, charming and with the perfect life of an opulent and loving nuclear family.

Yet, to me this was ominously like those opening scenes in Psycho (1960) when we eavesdrop on Marion with her lover as we enter her life, but through a window. In Nebenan we feel like we are prying into his life as we watch him in his daily routine.  As we see Daniel in the shower, he’s naked and vulnerable. There is some foreshadowing for his future scenes heard as he practices his lines for his audition for Darkman, as he says one line with malice, as for now But for now, we take this line of Darkman dialogue at face value,

You crawled out of the darkness.

This line you will note takes a more sinister meaning after Daniel meets Bruno, with Bruno “crawling through the darkness”. This previously anonymous man sheds light on Daniel’s private and professional life and matters only Daniel knows of. Bruno perceives he has good intentions but Daniel feels he is like a stalker. This is due to Bruno’s intensive intrusion into Daniel’s private affairs and his observations.

Bruno however feels he is being a good neighbour, even when he hits Daniel with those home truths. It’s only later we learn that like Marion’s killer in Psycho, that in Daniel’s view that Bruno is armed and dangerous to know like Marion’s killer. Bruno is “armed” with information and facts (or as he taunts this actor it could be fake news), which will both wound and hurt this now vulnerable actor. Bruno is dangerous in that he has information which would break or metaphorically kill, Daniel’s outer facade as a much-loved movie star known for a perfect life and marriage.

In the script, Brühl lightly mocks his real life as a multi-lingual actor. There are references to his sentimental “Stasi” film, possibly alluding to themes in Good Bye Lenin. My review of this film HERE described it as,

After the Berlin Wall comes tumbling down, little white lies rebuild it for all the best reasons… An East Berlin mother falls into a coma before the Berlin Wall comes down. Soon after, she wakes up to the life that she once knew, little realising the hidden truths.

The Nebenan script also mentions an audition Daniel’s audition for those superhero movie franchises (which real life Brühl is too). This is also with the running joke that Daniel’s request will go up the chain of command to find out more about his character’s role in this film. The screenwriters also make a subtle nod to the content of biopics. Daniel chooses to read an under 200-page Beethoven-themed biography after baulking at the idea of reading a more detailed over 850 pages long book.

Bruno has been waiting to meet this actor, not for his autograph but to show him those computer printouts. These have his then damning evidence detailing Daniel, his wife and her lovers’ bank accounts and the truths that surround them. From his neighbouring apartment, Bruno has heard and seen so much of Daniel’s life, all of which he tells this actor in a calm, measured way as a friend would do.

These men’s apartment block is set in Prenzlauer Berg, a place which has a crucial role in Berlin – and German unification – history. This film reflects accurately on this capital’s history and references differences between East Berlin and West Berlin. It’s this historical account, that drives this movie’s themes of gentrification. This is reflected in the ownership and history of Daniel’s penthouse. To support this storyline, Wikipedia indirectly supports this informative page about this area of Berlin, which is seen to resonate in this script.

“It was an important site for the peaceful revolution that brought down the Berlin Wall in 1989… In the 1990s the buildings that belonged to state-owned housing associations were sold to private investors, who had them renovated and raised the rents. Most of the borough’s original inhabitants could not afford the increased costs and have since moved away.

Who better than a Hollywood movie star and a resident who has seen these changes to lead this action in this two-hander storyline?

To end my thoughts about this German film, I’m ending on a musical note, that proves those subtle differences between stalker and good neighbour. The film suggests this can be a blurred boundary when translating the themes of stalker and neighbour. The song Living Next Door to Alice song  – sung by Smokie – tells an innocent tale of a neighbour’s unrequited love in the English language version of this song. These lyrics – found HERE – include,

As a big limousine rode up into Alice’s drive

Oh, I don’t know why she’s leaving, or where she’s gonna go
I guess she’s got her reasons, but I just don’t wanna know
‘Cause for 24 years I’ve been living next door to Alice
24 years just waitin’ for a chance
To tell her how I feel and maybe get a second glance
Now I gotta get used to not living next door to Alice

 

In contrast, Wikipedia added HERE this song has been re-adapted for several countries, adding that,

In Finnish, the song was recorded in 1977 by Kari Tapio, with the title “Viisitoista kesää” (“Fifteen Summers“). The arrangement is by Veikko Samuli and the Finnish lyrics by Juha Vainio.

In Finnish (and please correct me if this is translated wrong…), these lyrics were changed HERE, to a song where this song appears to take a stalker turn. The English translation is in bold type.

I lusted after him for fifteen summers
Viisitoista kesää mä häntä himosin

And then a black limousine was seen turning
Ja sitten nähtiin kääntymässä musta limousine

Who took him away and no one saw the driver
Joka hänet vei pois eikä ajajaa nähnyt kukaan

Why did he do this to me?
Miksi hän mulle tehnyt tämän ois

And sneaked away without telling the address
Ja kertomatta osoitetta livahtanut pois

Who the hell is that man
Kuka kumma on tuo mies

 

Finally, Daniel’s glass-walled apartment shows his vulnerabilities as a man, husband and actor, as it looks like he’s living in a goldfish bowl. The outside of the flat reflects on celebrity and suggests what we believe we think we know about a celebrity’s life from their outside facade, doesn’t necessarily reflect what’s happening on the other side. Yet this theme could apply to us too, as it’s a neighbour who knows more about us than anyone else, as they have a more unique view into what’s happening behind our outer facade.

 

Weeper Rating: 😦😦 😦 /10

Handsqueeze Rating: 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂🙂 🙂 🙂  🙂 🙂 🙂 /10

Hulk Rating: ‎ ‎ ‎ /10

 

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The Neighbours Blogathon 2024, No 12

This post was added to The Midnite Drive-In and Taking Up Room’s Neighbors Blogathon. Other posts with the cast include,

• Daniel Bruhl in Captain America: Civil War and Good Bye Lenin!.
• Peter Kurth in Good Bye Lenin!.
• I have also reviewed Jos Rakastat, a Finnish movie and the Finnish TV Series Au Pairit.
• Other foreign language films reviewed here include Incubus, Purple Noon / Plein Soleil / Talented Mr Ripley, La Piscine and more.
  

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