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The Fatherless review
:. Director: Marie Kreutzer
:. Starring: Andreas Kiendl, Andrea Wenzl
:. Running Time: 1:44
:. Year: 2011
:. Country: Germany
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Movies about family gatherings have become so popular those last few years that they have given birth to their own subgenre, built on a formulaic narrative: kids and grandkids arrive at the patriarch's home for a special occasion - usually for Christmas, Thanksgiving, a weekend, summer vacation, a wedding or a funeral. During the course of a diner, some drama erupts between siblings, cousins or lovers and some secrets get uncovered. When the end comes, some relationships are irremediably broken and everybody leaves the house.
This type of film has gained an international appeal, each country offering its own variation on the subgenre, whether it's drama (the French), comedy (Americans), mystery (the Brits), provocation (Denmark), etc … German filmmaker Marie Kreutzer doesn't bring much to the subgenre, delivering a film heavy on drama, the only originality being that it is set in a former hippie community rather than a standard family. This mostly means that the lines defining relationship boundaries are much blurrier than in a regular family drama, as it involves some serious partner swapping and even some incest.
Like lots of movies based on the same premise, The Fatherless is a bit claustrophobic as you get stuck with a few characters within the limits of a property. This is a finely acted work centered on the inner turmoil of its characters and it successfully put you at the center of this emotional time bomb. However, there is a strong sense of déjà vu that accompanies the picture, as you know it is headed to some chaotic conclusion. The collective setting isn't enough to elevate the film above similar entries in that subgenre and when The Fatherless comes to its conclusion you realize that not much happened and that you won't bring anything from this movie with you.
Fred Thom
 Movie Reviews: from 1998 to 2011
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