The wind blows through the beach grass. The sea sweeps against the tide. Three women in hats and coats lie down smiling on the sand. So far, so deceptive. Instead of being on a beach holiday with friends these three are in the midst of dealing with their trauma after entering the psychiatric clinic. Smoking weed. Sex. Breaking out of the provincial clinic at night to go to the nearby private indoor pool or an urban club. All this seems to help. For a while.
What’s bothersome about LOOPING is the drifting off from the tragic plot to sex scenes among the women. The naivety, or stupidity, of the youngest protagonist, Leila (Jella Haase), takes up far too much of the film. The breakdown of the oldest and most “mysterious” protagonist, Ann (Marie-Lou Sellem) is told at lightning speed. The overload of themes and feelings, the artificial surreal scenes, and the general clumsiness is not surprising since this is a graduate film.
Why should you nevertheless watch Leonie Krippendorff’s film, born in 1985? Because Frenja’s (Lana Cooper) episode, a woman who is constantly exploited by her fat, self-infatuated sister, a sniveling husband, and a small aggravating daughter, and other vampires, stands out in its depiction of a burnout case. Especially because this authentic seeming “illness story” manages to come across as funny because of one night of bitterly ironic escalations. It is confident filmmaking; an observation of fellow people with a grasp of tragicomedy and timing.

Jutta Vahrson

Translation: Elinor Lewy