The Vernon Film Society is showing the highly acclaimed German film Toni Erdmann, Monday at the Vernon Towne Cinema.
The comedy-drama concerns an up-tight corporate executive daughter and her prank-playing father, who is intent on her enjoying life more than she obviously does. He goes to Romania to visit her and decides to re-invent himself as a “life coach,” complete with wig and false teeth, playing all kinds of tricks along the way.
At the Cannes Film Festival, it was reported that the audience was so impressed with the movie’s humour that they burst into spontaneous applause more than once, something that rarely happens.
The film’s writer-director Maren Ade took almost five years to work on Toni Erdmann after her directional debut, 2003’s The Forest for the Trees, and then 2009’s Everyone Else.
Toni Erdmann won the European Film Award for Best Film and Best Director, while the two main characters, Peter Simonischek and Sandra Hüller, won Best Actor and Best Actress. Toni Erdmann was also nominated for an Oscar in the Best Foreign Language Film category.
“The film’s no-nonsense, visually plain documentary style of shooting feels utterly appropriate to its sly evocation of the absurdities and banalities of modern life. Just brilliant,” wrote Time Out.
Toni Erdmann screens at the Vernon Towne Cinema, Monday, March 20. Due to the film’s length, the first screening starts at 5 p.m. while the second show starts at 8 p.m. The film is rated R. Tickets are $7 cash, available at the Towne Cinema one week ahead, and at the Bean Scene.