In the Fade – [Aus dem Nichts] (Fatih Akin, 2017): German I French

Reviewed by Hayden Schoenfelder. Viewed at AFI Fest in Hollywood.

Diane Kruger plays the protagonist as the extremely talented role of Katja in this film. Displaying powerful actions of love, sadness and determination, ending up on a path to get revenge for her loved ones. This film kept me engaged for the entire duration and always curious to Katja’s next move. Finding out at the Q & A that she is not a mother in real life is impressive because I believe she captured the role of her character so well as a wounded mother. The production crew really had some interesting shots of this movie giving it such a dramatic effect when scenes were heavy with interest giving the film an intensity rising vibe that was very fun to watch. Throughout the film it became quite evident that Katja was filled with an overwhelming amount of grief, causing her to act out in unpredictable ways that were potentially harmful to the case at hand.

One thing that really stood out to me was her attire. Most of the time it was dark, black, creating a meaningful image of how her inner feelings matched her outside appearance. In addition, the flashback videos contained deep rich colors opposite to her daily wardrobe. This tells me that she cherished the times with her husband and son, while on the other hand, life without them by her side seemed dark and not worth it. 

Watching Katja create an explosive device, very similar to the one used in the office building bombing, was so suspenseful considering that she totally intends on causing the same amount and the same kind of pain on the bombers just as they did to her heart.

Overall the best scene was the very last, having thoughts of Katja getting what she wanted in the end and saving herself from further pain, took a turn for the worst. She strapped on the backpack (where the bomb was located) and continued to her destination: to inflict the same amount of pain, on the two Nazi affiliated people that killed her family.