On Thursday, the Iris Productions co-production The Dark Side of the Moon (Die dunkle Seite des Mondes) had its premier in Luxembourg; the film will be on general release in Luxembourg from Wednesday 27 January 2016.
Directed by Stephan Rick (primarily German tv series) and starring Moritz Bleibtreu (World War Z, Munich, Woman in Gold, The Fifth Estate, The Baader Meinhof Complex), Sabine Rossbach (Oleander, Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds), Yves Robert Schaaf (Oleander, The Clearstream Affair), Nora von Waldstätten (mainly German tv series), Jürgen Prochnow (The Da Vinci Code, The English Patient, Das Boot, Beverly Hills Cop II) and Doris Schretzmayer (mainly German tv series and tv films).
Thriller, 97 mins, 16+, in DE with EN sub-titles
This Luxembourg co-production is based on the novel by bestselling author Martin Suter and makes interesting viewing. For a thriller it is a couple of stages removed from a drama but not quite at the edge of Doudege Wénkel (Blind Spot (2012)). It features the main character Urs Blank (Moritz Bleibtreu), a successful lawyer involved in mergers of pharmaceutical companies. At home, he appears happily married to Evelyn (Doris Schretzmayer). After he suffers the trauma of an adversary committing suicide in front of him, he attends the funeral and wanders off into the forest (the forests are woven very well into the fabric and storyline of the film through artworks, etc.) where he meets Lucille (Nora von Waldstätten). He is attracted by her and her alternative lifestyle, leading to a session where he experiments with hallucinogenic mushrooms.
His personality changes which affects his marriage and his work. When lucid, he tries to discover why, at the same time his life continues to unravel with his business and personal life spiralling out of control, which will reach a climatic showdown with new rival Pius Ott (Jürgen Prochnow).
Many shots of Luxembourg can be recognised in the film, including the lake at Esch-sur-Sure, trails at Mullerthal and much more... The performances are solid, with Moritz Bleibtreu the pick of the crop in the lead role.
Well worth a view.
