Sandra Hüller: the actress from Anatomy of a Fall is in the spotlight on Arte.TV

Just before the Oscars, the channel is programming four career-defining films: Toni Erdmann, Amour fou, Requiem and A Waltz in the Alleys.

You have loved Sandra Hüller In Anatomy of a fall ? You should love it in Tony Erdmann or Crazy Love !

This is the bet made by the Franco-German channel Arte, which offers to (re)watch four major films by the actress for free before her possible coronation, this Sunday at the Oscars. A few days after triumphed at the Césars, Anatomy of a fall is in fact in the running for five statuettesincluding that of best actress.

Here is the presentation of the four films proposed: Toni Erdmann, Mad Love, Requiem And A Waltz in the aislesaccompanied by criticism of First. To access the Sandra Hüller cycle on the Arte website, click here.

Anatomy of a fall: Cut sex scene and guilt, Sandra Hüller says it all!

Requiem by Hans-Christian Schmid (2006)

The story : Michaela, a young student raised in a Catholic and bourgeois environment, imagines that she is possessed by demons.

Editor's opinion: The antithesis of the very Hollywood The Exorcism of Emily Rose (Derrickson, 05), which was inspired by the same events, this film retraces with almost clinical rigor the case of a young German woman who died of exhaustion in the 1970s, after having undergone a series of exorcisms to treat what was , at first, was just epilepsy. A strongly religious environment, added to a stifling family context, probably favored the psychosis of this character played with painful realism by the impressive Sandra Hüller.

Cannes 2023- Meeting with Sandra Hüller, the heroine of Anatomy of a Fall and The Zone of Interest

Crazy Loveby Jessica Hausner (2015)

The story : Berlin, in the romantic era. The young tragic poet Heinrich wishes to overcome the inevitable side of death thanks to love: he tries to convince his cousin Marie, who is close to him, to counter fate by determining their suicide together, but Marie, despite his insistence, remains skeptical. Heinrich is depressed by his cousin's lack of sensitivity, while Henriette, a young wife whom Heinrich had also approached, suddenly seems tempted by the proposal when she learns that she has an incurable illness. A “romantic comedy” freely inspired by the suicide of the poet Heinrich von Kleist, 1811.

Editor's opinion: Author of minimalist dramas revealing truths hidden behind conventions, the director delivers her free interpretation of absolute romanticism à la Heinrich von Kleist with an economy of means – hieratic sets, minimalist costumes – and a sense of framing giving the sequence shots the appearance fragile paintings.

If we often think of Éric Rohmer (who signed the adaptation of “The Marquise d’O…”, by von Kleist) and Michael Haneke (whose student and scriptwriter Jessica Hausner was), the most astonishing thing is undoubtedly that this film about love flirts with the absurd. In a world that is disappearing, the question of appearances and beliefs gives rise to a gentle and hushed game of massacre.

Justine Triet: “In the United States people think Sandra is guilty”

Tony Erdmannby Maren Ade (2016)

The story : When Ines, a businesswoman from a large German company based in Bucharest, sees her father arrive without warning, she does not hide her exasperation. Her perfectly organized life does not suffer from the slightest disorder but when her father asks her the question “are you happy?” “, his inability to respond is the beginning of a profound upheaval. This troublesome father of whom she is ashamed does everything to help her find meaning in her life by inventing a character: the mischievous Toni Erdmann…

Editor's opinion: Winfried Conradi (played by an impressive Austrian actor, Peter Simonischeck) is a mischievous old man who makes jokes all the time but who missed the main thing: his daughter. This businesswoman established in Bucharest is distant and unhappy, Winfried senses this and will do everything to get her out of her existential impasse. He will “to invite oneself” in Bucharest and wreak havoc in Ines' very organized life by inventing the character of Toni Erdmann, an old handsome man wearing a wig and visible dentures. This is the beginning of a rather incongruous story which sees fiction invade reality (Winfried multiplies the grotesque appearances during Ines's important meetings) for a prodigiously obvious result: Tony Erdmann is basically the portrait of a dad who re-enchants everyday life for his little girl whose control is only the manifestation of his fear of facing life, people and admitting that his work as a restructuring consultant of companies is frighteningly cynical.

An actress in a state of grace
Emotion, laughter, love. In 2h42 (yes, it's long but you won't get bored for a second), Tony Erdmann presents itself as a summary of life, a euphoric pill that makes you reconsider the essential. Naive ? Maybe. Maren Ade, noted for Everyone else who was already blurring the lines of conformism (in love), is not fooled. She does not seek to convince but to change our outlook on a Western world obsessed with performance and results. Tony Erdmann is in this way close to Victoria, the other Cannes film (but at Critics' Week) which examines the perverse effects of economic and social capitalism through the portrait of a woman adrift. Because the subject of the film here is Ines, this self-made woman incapable of empathy, who forces her lover to masturbate in front of her or who refuses her father the right to love her. A complete stranger to us, Sandra Hüller, a tall, slightly cold blonde, delivers an incredible performance which culminates in two memorable sequences where she must demonstrate both total immodesty and a form of self-control.

And Maren Ade created Toni Erdmann

A Waltz in the aislesby Thomas Stuber (2018)

The story : The shy and lonely Christian is hired in a supermarket. Bruno, a department manager, takes him under his wing to teach him the trade. In the candy aisle, he meets Marion, with whom he immediately falls in love. Each coffee break is an opportunity to get to know each other better. Christian also meets the rest of the team and little by little becomes a member of the big supermarket family. Soon, his days spent driving a forklift and stocking shelves mean more to him than he could have imagined…

Editor's opinion: Look carefully. In the heart of summer there are sometimes some (too) well hidden nuggets. This is the case of this little wonder from Germany. A funny love story in a funny place for a funny film. Christian is 27 years old. Shy and lonely, he has just suddenly lost his job on a construction site and found work in a world completely new to him: a supermarket. On site, a department manager takes him under his wing and teaches him the basics of the job. But, above all, in the candy corner, he meets Marion, with whom he instantly falls in love…

Love, work, friendship, depression, death, these are the themes mixed together A waltz in the aisles with a moving fluidity and this art of confronting the harsh things of life while watching for the light at the end of the path. Thanks to a narrative with a simplicity that hits the mark, to the infinite love of its director for his characters and to a direction which knows how to distill dreaminess into the most banal everyday life. Three qualities to which we must add the talent of a duo of astonishingly sensitive actors: Franz Rogowski, already impressive a few weeks ago in Transit and Sandra Hüller, unforgettable interpreter of Tony Erdmann. Throughout the story, we think a lot about Aki Kaurismäki Wes Anderson and Roy Andersson. Influences that Thomas Stuber was able to make his own to deliver this film with terribly endearing originality.

Justine Triet tells us about the adventure of Anatomy of a Fall