Irgendwann Werden Wir Uns Alles Erzählen (Someday We’ll Tell Each Other Everything )

After straying to Cannes’s Un Certain Regard with last year’s More Than Ever, Emily Atef is back in Berlin’s Competition (having previously competed for the Golden Bear in 2018 with Three Days in Quiberon). Her adaptation of Daniela Krien’s novel of the same name concerns itself with disillusionment and sexual obsession in the newly reunified East of Germany.

Maria (Marlene Burow) has moved in with her boyfriend’s family after her mother lost her job. The Brendels have embraced her like a daughter, she says. Unfortunately for her, this has also come with a set of expectations, but the teenager is neither interested in taking on responsibilities at their farm nor does she see any point in finishing school. When a neighbour in his 40s suddenly shows an interest in her, she hopes to have found the type of epic passion she has hitherto only read about in her Russian novels.

The bumpy cinematic staging can best be illustrated by referencing a scene in which Maria’s mother loses control of her car. The wide shot depicting the accident from afar – one continuous take of the full rotation of the vehicle, before the characters emerge unharmed – is exciting in its unassuming observation. The previous shot from the interior, which shows the woman remove the ignition key to try and save gas as her car rolls downhill, is the complete opposite. We are close to empathising with her situation, but we are given no reason to connect with her. Even as she realises the vehicle is headed the wrong way, she makes no real attempt to regain control, the keys still in her hand as she lets out a noncommittal sound. Atef’s direction seems equally detached. 

The cinematography is the only consistent element, pulling the entire weight of the wearisome narrative. With smooth and languid movements, the camera explores the bodies, the fields, the broken dreams of unity.

Someday We’ll Tell Each Other Everything’s cardinal sin is that it takes its audience’s attention as a given without supplying sufficient evidence that the characters and story are worth spending 130 minutes of their time on. 

Selina Sondermann

Irgendwann Werden Wir Uns Alles Erzählen (Someday We’ll Tell Each Other Everything ) does not have a UK release date yet.

Read more reviews from our Berlin Film Festival 2023 coverage here.

For further information about the event visit the Berlin Film Festival website here.

Watch the trailer for Irgendwann Werden Wir Uns Alles Erzählen (Someday We’ll Tell Each Other Everything ) here: