"Exil" with Misel Maticevic is about an identity crisis, everyday racism and a dead rat. A bitter aftertaste remains.
The film "Exil" by director Visar Morina (born 1979, "Babai: My Father") is haunting, oppressive and terrifyingly realistic. The psychological thriller celebrated its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2020. "Exil" will be shown in German cinemas from August 20, 2020. In it, Morina packs the topic of everyday racism in a very idiosyncratic and creative way.
This is what "Exile" is all about
The chemical engineer Xhafer (Misel Maticevic, 50) was born in Kosovo and now lives in Germany. The 45-year-old is married to Nora (Sandra Hüller, 42), has three children and lives in a single-family house – a seemingly normal life. But slowly he gets the feeling that he is being discriminated against and bullied in his workplace. This feeling intensifies when one day a dead rat hangs on the garden fence. Xhafer is certain that his colleague Urs (Rainer Bock, 66) is behind it.
Then events roll over: Xhafer's name is removed from the e-mail distribution list, important data is not given to him and a burning pram suddenly appears on his doorstep. He sees all of these things as evidence that he is being bullied by his colleagues. Wife Nora, however, has no understanding for the allegations of her husband. She doesn't believe that his work colleagues are xenophobic, they just don't like him. Xhafer faces the problem alone. Is he really being discriminated against or is he just imagining it?
A gloomy, sweaty and cramped world
Like his main character, the director Visar Morina is a native of Kosovo. It seems that the filmmaker is, in some ways, dealing with his own life story. He also wrote the script. Morina came to Germany at the age of 14, could not speak the language and first had to find her way in the new world. He skilfully transports this emotionality onto the screen – through the grandiose, theatrical performance of his characters, but also through the setting and implementation. The film is bathed in an orange-red light, which underlines the depressing situation.
The viewer experiences everything from the perspective of Xhafer, whose forehead is sweaty as soon as he enters his workplace. There is a sultry heat in the air, which matches the leaden mood. Shirts stuck to the body and tired faces shape the picture. Neither the dreary office space nor the colleagues appear inviting or friendly. The camera team is increasingly focusing on close-ups – the lens is always aimed at the faces of the protagonists. The facial expressions are clearly in the foreground. Fans of great dialogues will be disappointed. The body language serves as a mouthpiece for the battered characters.
Great cast in an oppressive atmosphere
Another plus point: the great cast, especially Misel Maticevic as the mentally troubled father. In the course of the film he gets caught in a vortex of suspicion and paranoia. He suspects something evil behind every gesture and every word. But not only at work: even a flipped up toilet seat suddenly becomes an indication of a possible affair with his wife. The viewer can watch every minute how the nice man turns into a violent, tough and aloof figure.
This slow uncertainty is bought 100 percent from Maticevic. The viewer can empathize with him, empathize with him and find it difficult to detach himself from his way of thinking. A wonderful antithesis is the cool and hardened-looking wife Nora, who is wonderfully portrayed by Sandra Hüller. She acts as a solid rock and is at the same time the character who keeps the viewer on course. She questions Xhafer's views and suggests alternative interpretations.
"Exile" holds up a mirror to society
Visar Morina holds up a mirror to German society with "Exil". It shows the subtle racism that goes on in everyday life – here in the office. Sentences like "Where are you from?" or asking three times how the last name is pronounced. But the tables are also turned. Xhafer also has prejudices against Germans. He sees the stereotype of a racist in the Germans: "You don't even know what it means to be a stranger in this would-be-cultivated and deeply lying country."
Conclusion
"Exile" gets under your skin and makes you think. Visar Morina shows the world from the perspective of a migrant, which creates an oppressive feeling in many moments. Is Xhafer really discriminated against because of its origin? That won't be revealed here. For one or the other viewer, the ending could be unsatisfactory and leave a big question mark. A bitter aftertaste remains.