Lonely Death

In den Tag Hinein/The Days Between (2001) - Speth
Twenty-something Lynn (Sabine Timoteo) works as a dancer at a disco and at a college cafeteria. She stays between her professional swimmer boyfriend's apartment and her brother's house. Neither place gives her any warmth. Things change when she meets Kenji, a Japanese student studying German. Their drunken night exchanges (them not completely understanding each other) give us a bit of insight to their lonely lives.

Maria Speth's The Days Between has everything I look for in a film. She obviously is heavily influenced by wayward youth cinema of WKW and Tsai, but her sensibilities are still very much European. There is nothing cute or sentimental about The Days Between. It has more in common with Eric Zonca's Dreamlife of Angels (which is featured as Lynn and Kenji go see the film). Speth's less concerned about solid storytelling which keeps her apart from Andrea Arnold or Lynne Ramsay even. Lynn's indecisiveness and going with the flow attitude rings much truer than any film about youth romance. Even though she is rebellious, she is still bound by tradition, family and most of all, herself. There is no sense of irony or glibness about the film. The ending surprised me and deeply affected me. Timoteo is lovely. Her long black hair with uneven bangs are the look to die for. I can't advocate this film enough around here. An amazing film.