In the Fade (Fatih Akin, 2017): Germany | France

Reviewed by Xinyu Zhou. Viewed at AFI Fest 2017.

The movie is depressed, and it includes drugs, murder, and revenge, but the story is really touchable.

The mother, Katja is a German. Her husband is from Turkey. Her son Rocco is 5 years old. Nuri Sekerci.

The First section:  The died family. Katja dropped her son to her husband’s office she threw a wrapped paper to a man who said something bad about her husband (actually the man is kind of like joking with her). This scene makes me feel Katja loved her husband so much. She insisted to pick them up even though Nuri said it wasn’t necessary to do so. All the scenes in Nuni’s office should that they loved each other so much. Then, she drives away to pick up her sister. Will the “dead family” be her? Willa car accident happen? When Katja arrived on time to pick up her husband and son, the street was blocked. Actually, the dead families are Kaja’s husband and son. I totally understand why Katja ran to the block street like crazy. She was afraid! (I was afraid as well). When Katja cried crazily because the policeman told her the victims were a man and a child.  The camera stopped at this scene, which made me cried. The music and sound stopped as well. All the people’s attention could focus on Katja’s crying and sadness. Silent but bleeding inside. Sometimes the silence is better than any music.

The man from Greek was lying in the court obviously, and this became the turning point of the whole story. It is the origin of Katja’s revenge. It was so ironic when the two criminals were announced innocent. The clues were so obvious. Where are the justices?   Then here comes the most exciting part of the movie. Katja turned to the revenge. She moved to Greek, but I thought she was strip to go to the Greek guy’s hotel and tried to find where was the German couple. She might be killed there.

Fortunately, she found where was the couple, by following the Greek guy, she was good I think because she didn’t go to ask why they killed her families directly. She wanted the eye to eye! Katja was a smart woman. She bought the materials to make a nail bomb. I thought the story may be ended this way, but it wasn’t.

Here came a surprise, Katja took the nail bomb back. She didn’t kill the couple when she could. I was wondering what Katja was thinking when she was waiting for the couple comes back. She might kill them when they back from exercise. The camera was so close to Katja, and the background music was the sound of wind, ocean, and birds. She was thinking about the revenge carefully. There must something made her take the nail bomb back.

The next day, Katja took the nail bomb with her and went to see the couple without hesitation and fear. She opened the door and entered the limo directly. She explored the bomb almost immediately without any conversation with the couple. Now, I got her the day before she explored the bomb, she watched the video of her son and husband played at the beach. She probably couldn’t find any reason to live on after the revenge. Suicide might be a good way for her to release herself from deep depression.