Toni Erdmann reviewed by Mark Kermode

[@charlie5115]

A great film that defies genres, hope it gets more attention. Absurd, outrageously funny and really sad at the same time.

[@T800System]

that's what I thought but honestly, there is no padding - every minute is essential viewing

[@DanielCowman21]

+Iggsy81 It felt like less than 2 hours to me.

[@ThisIsWideAngle]

What makes this film work is the daughter father relationship and that it is beautifully shown with a very truthfull subtility. It really does feel like that there is a history and understanding between them and you can feel it with every interaction they share on the screen. This also makes the perils of losing this relationship and also the status the daughter achieved in work live so relatable and real in the clashing situations, instead of just being goofy and funny. I totally adore this film. Absolute masterpiece and the best film coming from germany in the last decades.

[@ZeppelinBigFan]

That one particular party scene might be the only time I've been crying from laughing in the cinema.

[@olivermcerlean2635]

My vote for single best scene ever.

[@nicklockk]

Do you mean the one, where someone is undressed?

[@olivermcerlean2635]

I mean the 'team-building' party which begins with her deciding to change her outfit, yes, and which results in a state of undress. Even just the moment of her struggling to get her dress off is worth an award.

[@kinghailz786]

Why did she decide to be naked though??

[@zekedimblebee]

@@kinghailz786 because why not

[@olivermcerlean2635]

Yes, it made me feel emotions I didn't know I had. Or is it because of my age and personal history? I dunno. Hard to think of a movie that beats it for originality.

[@littleghostfilms3012]

It's about a father comically stalking his daughter to make a reconnection with her because he loves her. It's beyond brilliant!

[@pb.j.1753]

RIP Peter Simonischek

[@sleepyazathoth5238]

I loved the film, it's sad, funny, bizarre and heartwarming. I saw A Man Called Ove this week to, and man the Oscar category for best foreign film is tough this year.

[@spaceboy2095]

Your God Wilfred Yes, it's hard to predict since the best movies not in English are NOT nominated : The Handmaiden, Things to come, Sieranevada, The Innocentes and Neruda...

[@WAAAAAAAAAAAY]

Really surprised by this.....didn't know much about it going in........It really got to me. I can't quite pinpoint the exact moment when I fell in love with it but it built up on me; the length was initially intimidating but I can't think of a single scene I'd remove; it seems to be the perfect length, which is weird considering the premise/plot. It's genuinely funny and there's a wonderful element of satire running throughout....The main draw of the film, however, is in the awkward and deadpan chemistry from, not just the two principle actors, but every performance, which is pitched perfectly. Funny, sad, emotionally engaging, a bit strange, heartwarming.......A real treat. :)

[@voyance4elle]

I loved it, too... - and I wasn't expecting to love it at all. It was incredibly moving and honest.

[@EllaChinois]

I just finished watching it at a cinema two days ago. Most of the people in the audience thought it was a comedy (including the critic hosting the mini-talk after the movie). Somehow I find the story a bit sad and too cringy. Don't get me wrong it is a very good drama. The only laugh out loud moment happened at Inca's party...and that giant hairy costume...awesome.

[@coolhamid1]

There's definitely something of a positive release happening toward the end, but, for me, the very last minute is profoundly sad and existential.

[@thelionroars1337]

One of my very favourites of last year.

[@borismoof6282]

I haven't enjoyed a film so much for a long while. I never realised it was anywhere near 160 mins long until I retrospectively read a review. It's seemed half that. The time flew by.

[@chrishorner3954]

Good review of an excellent film. I didn't think it was really a comedy though - just melancholic, and thought provoking.

[@johnPaul-qn3dg]

Mark, yes I absolutely agree, it also lingered with me for days. A class review,

[@tibne2412]

Can't find a screening near where I live, might pirate and buy the dvd or bluray later.

[@spaceboy2095]

You can predict what Kermode thinks of a movie simply by the length of his review.

[@timnickoll]

Thank you Mr Kermode for this review. A gift..........

[@ujustgotpwned2008]

I saw a trailer for this before 'A Monster Calls'... but it was the weirdest trailer I've ever seen. It was just a three minute clip from the film, and then the production company logo. No title of the film, no context... no-one laughed. I trust Mark's reviews enough to think that the film is possibly great indeed but it's not until now that I even knew what the film was called. Very odd.

[@huntress1013]

Same here. I also saw the trailer before watching "A Monster Calls" and was weirded out but friends of mine really want to see it and we are going tonight.

[@matthewrobinson5221]

Must be a great film, Just announced the English languages version with Jack Nicolson

[@guest_informant]

She doesn't try to distance herself etc etc etc. She invites him along. The whole central premise of the film is flawed. It's just dull.

[@filmbright]

Good stuff and thanks for giving German film a platform!

[@filmsagainstempires1388]

Hands down the best 2016 film I've seen.

[@huntress1013]

I will go and watch it tonight with friends who really want to see it. To be honest, I am a bit wary. I saw the trailer and didn't like it much but the movie got so many great review that I feel like I have to check it out.

[@nicklockk]

Did he watch it with subtitles or is there a dub?

[@nicklockk]

I'm actually german, and here everything non-german is dubbed so jokes on you

[@nicklockk]

Thank you

[@ethidian3444]

Well dubbing ruins all live-action movies, so the jokes on you. You can't listen to someone else talk over a physical performance of another, and expect it to aid in understanding the film more easily.

[@davidcampdelacreuivila335]

i agree 100% with you. a brilliant film

[@mobyboy]

what so brilliant about it??? bad script! bad plot!! boring! not funny, not dramatic! simply nothing!

[@Experimentalfilms123]

Great review

[@grohlathangates942]

No Clip?

[@hairychris444]

Probably not worth it as I imagine that it's subtitled! EDIT: Well, not worth it if you don't speak German.

[@grohlathangates942]

Oh of course

[@taliaprice1909]

German comedy film. That sounds interesting.

[@telephilia]

Whether it's a comedy is debatable. But it is at least a half hour too long.

[@montagdarko3870]

My favourite film of 2016

[@andyg9835]

‘Toni Erdmann’ certainly made me laugh out loud, so as it’s a comedy - job done. However, I did think it to be overly long, at getting on for three hours; funny, yes, but also at times; awkward, quirky, weird, and just plain bemusing. I thought it was a good film, but not a great one. 3/5

[@philipmcritchie7309]

Kermode reveals too much here...

[@eachday9538]

There needs to be a new film category: Cringedy

[@VideoCop]

I'm in the minority. I was into it for about 30-45 minutes, by the hour and a half mark I lost interest when a dude splooged onto a cupcake and she eats it. NOOOOPE.

[@davidgoldsmith4870]

Walked out after about an hour. Couldn't stand any more of it |

[@besinnliches]

You probably missed a trick there - the longer it goes on, the more it makes sense and the more hard-hitting it becomes. By the end I was feeling a really strange mix of emotions that I don't think I've experienced before, which for me is definitely a sign of a well-crafted film.

[@mobyboy]

very boring!!

[@spaceboy2095]

I didn't get that movie. Everyone in the theater, full of people over 45 years old, was laughing, but I wasn't or so rarely... I thought it was a series of awkard scenes slightly funny but never hilarious. I didn't get the so-called poetry of the end and was mostly bored throughout.

[@hughtube5154]

I agree. I also thought it was about an hour too long.

[@spaceboy2095]

Hugh Tube You mean 2 hours and 42 minutes too long, don't you? LOL, no but you're right, the two scenes about the parties never came to a conclusion, it could have been shortened...

[@hughtube5154]

I had a bad feeling about this film before it even started - it was certificated a 16 (!) by the Irish film council (?!?!). Then came the opening shot - about 20 seconds staring at an open doorway... for some reason. Then the father appeared, being neither as funny as I wanted, nor as tragic as he needed to be. The director thinks that adding / removing false teeth causes instant hilarity, the writer seems to have spliced the sex scene and cake eating from a movie with a completely different tone, the editor ignored the fact that the handcuff scene is utterly inconsequential and that almost every scene overstays its welcome, the father assuming a new identity is an oft repeated motif that works on diminishing returns - and I never found it funny in the first place. History will not be kind to this film.

[@spaceboy2095]

Hugh Tube I don't know, maybe it has to do with how old you are. I think people under 45 tend to dislike that movie when those over 45 tend to like. But it's really a mystery, to me who is 36, how you can even laugh to this movie, and yet many people do... Cannes Film Festival had a few movies like this one, very divisive : The Neon Demon, Ma Loute, American Honey and Elle, all of which, except for American Honey that I haven't seen, I didn't like...

[@desafrique53]

people under 45 rarely have a sense of humour.

[@Peroy1]

This was one of the worst movies I've ever seen. I'm sure this plays in hell.

[@stanleyraz6690]

Can somebody explain why this film is getting this kind of praise ? Because i saw it and i was bored to tears , it was shallow , stupid , to much talk . I think the last great films that came from germany where those 70's films by (Herzog- wenders- fassbender) after that it went tragically down .

[@connypiano5038]

Wie beruhigend, dass dieser unverständlicherweise ständig mit Superlativen gepriesene MÜLL-FILM KEINEN OSCAR bekommen hat !!! Vor ca. 2 Monaten neugierig ins Kino gegangen, war T. Erdmann tatsächlich der einzige Film in unserem schon durchaus langen Leben, den wir 1 Std. vor dem Ende verlassen mussten. Er war einfach unerträglich langweilig, geschmacklos und irgendwie amateurhaft. Letzteres kam sicher in den USA auch nicht so gut an.. :-)

[@eachday9538]

There needs to be a new film category: Cringedy