Erik has is own motorbike workshop in a sleepy little town. He may have the telling word ‘scoundrel’ tattooed onto his lower arm but he nonetheless creates an impression of a well-behaved average Joe. His relationship with his girlfriend Julia is going well and her daughter Linda is very fond of her new Dad. But then all of a sudden the mysterious Henry appears and begins following him about like a sinister shadow. The more Erik tries to shake off his diabolical guest the more Henry intrudes into his life. But then when a violent gangster named Keitel enters the fray and threatens not only Erik but Julia and Linda, Erik’s seemingly ideal world begins to run off the rails.
Acting
Vogel's physical dissolution—watch his body betray him.
Direction
Erlenwein's patient unraveling of space and sanity.
Director
Maximilian Erlenwein
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Part of Germany's 2010s 'Berlin School' adjacent movement—minimalist thrillers interrogating national masculinity after reunification.
Bleibtreu reportedly improvised Henry's unnerving physical proximity in every scene, never rehearsed distance—Vogel's discomfort is genuine.
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