Munich Film Festival Review: The Invention of Love (2013)

Cast: Maria Kwiatkowsky, Bastian Trost, Sunnyi Melles
Director: Lola Randl
Country: Germany | Luxembourg
Genre: Drama

Editor’s Notes: The following article is part of our coverage of the Munich International Film Festival. For more information on the festival visit filmfest-muenchen.de and follow the Munich International Film Festival on Twitter at @filmfestmunich.

The main actress of a film dies in the middle of a shoot. No one in the crew has any idea about what is going to happen next. How does the rest of the film unfold? How does the crew manage to continue with the filming even in the absence of the actress? All these questions and more are answered through Lola Randl’s latest Die Erfindung der Liebe (The Invention of Love).

The film follows the real-life inspired events about how the film Die Erfindung der Liebe went on shooting, even after the death of its main actress Maria Kwiatowsky during its shoot. In order to make it real, the film infuses this plot into the film’s actual narrative and plays with it through different forms.

The film follows the real-life inspired events about how the film Die Erfindung der Liebe went on shooting, even after the death of its main actress Maria Kwiatowsky during its shoot. In order to make it real, the film infuses this plot into the film’s actual narrative and plays with it through different forms. To make things clear, let us divide the film into three films as they travel cross-roads with each other throughout the movie. First, there is the film directed by Ada (Mira Partecke) named The Invention of Love on the screen that has the same plot as the real story. Second is the one that is imagined and narrated by the screenwriter (Sebastian Weber) of the film (directed by Ada), who suffers from writer’s block and constantly comes under the scrutiny for his lack of taking the narrative forward. The screenwriter, when narrating the story, portrays Emily, the main character of the film as the late actress Maria. The third film is the one about the crew members who get into the skins of the characters, give interviews on the making of the film and the events happening among them off screen. Everyone will be confused by now including the cast, as to which film they are actually acting for.

The main plot of Die Erfindung der Liebe (directed by Ada) involves Emily, a playful girl falling in love with Daniel, but both of them are not financially stable. So, they come up with an idea of getting acquainted with rich people in whatever means possible. Emily, in the course of events, saves the life of a rich ailing woman, Amine (Sunnyi Melles). And then, as the actress playing Emily dies after this part of the narrative, the screenwriter and Ada are confused as to whether drop the film or think anything unconventional. Finally, they put Tina (Marie Rosa), who is an intern in that crew as the replacement for Emily. The production crew also suggests involving some tracking shots to mask the screen-presence of Tina and make it look like the real Emily, who completed half of the film before her death. The screenwriter now plans to take the narrative of the film with Daniel becoming the legal advisor for Amine, and later, Amine falls for Daniel and they plan to marry. Whether Emily accepts to that proposal or breaks up with Daniel forms the guessing game for the screenwriter as well as the audience with respect to this film (directed by Ada).

The characters and the actors often mix up, but the actual narrative common to all three films is so clear and lucid that the audience can separate the events of each character in each film with ease. The cast members not only speak about the making of the film and the difficulties associated with each part of it, but also give their personal views on their colleagues. When Tina gets the role of the actress, everyone including her, accept the fact that she is an amateur and is not worthy of replacing Emily (Maria). The high point of the film (actual) comes when Tina improvises her acting and goes a step further in developing some affinity towards Ulf (who plays Daniel in the film). Ada comes to know this, though she reveals less and concentrates more on completing the film. The love game goes off the screen too. Ada’s performance  as the film director inside the film was impressive, as it closely relates to the struggles Lola Randl would have experienced while shooting the real film.

The characters and the actors often mix up, but the actual narrative common to all three films is so clear and lucid that the audience can separate the events of each character in each film with ease. The cast members not only speak about the making of the film and the difficulties associated with each part of it, but also give their personal views on their colleagues.

The screenwriter (actual/real) has actually paced the movie pretty well with enough twists in both the story and in the characters’ personal lives. But the only aspect that lets down in this film is the introduction of too many characters in all the possible narratives of the film, which sometimes make it difficult to relate with each other. Overall, Lola Randl has put up an extra-ordinary performance to blend the events of reel and real, thereby giving us a new dimension in the genre of romance. You just can’t miss this new invention.

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Venkateshwaran Ganesh

Staff Film Critic. Visit my personal blog at framesofeternity.wordpress.com

Venkatesh is a cinephile, who always try to relate some of the moments of his everyday life with the moving pictures. Though he started a bit late in exploring world cinema, directors like Kubrick, Bresson, Kieslowski, Kurosawa, Satyajit Ray made him stay in this wonderful world of cinema for years to come. Even in the midst of an apocalypse, he tweets @venkkeyy about films. And you can check his not so active blog http://framesofeternity.wordpress.com/ and motivate him time and again.

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