"Jerichow" is a German movie from 2008, so this one will have its 10th anniversary next year. It was written and directed by Christian Petzold and this movie of slightly under half an hour (without credits) is another statement why Petzold is among Europe's finest now and has been there for quite a while. His films are never really that long but they have great focus and that's much more important than the runtime, perfect this way as nobody needs another half hour or so of dragging scenes and empty moments. The three core players here are Benno Fürmann, Nina Hoss and Hilmi Sözer. Fürmann has worked with Petzold on many occasions and I personally must say I don't think he is a really great actor. This film does not change anything really. His character is relatively lackluster to be honest and I felt that he required little range to work nicely, which works in Fürmann's favor. And so it is all good with the decision to cast Fürmann. Hoss is another actor that Petzold has worked with on quite a few occasions, his leading lady and her character certainly requires a bit more than the previous. But Hoss, even if she has a tendency to give extremely similar performances, is also good enough to make her work. As for Sözer, honestly so far I only knew he'd be in loud movies that Germans would call klamauk at times, so I was certainly a bit surprised to see him in a Petzold movie giving a pretty strong dramatic performance. Definitely the positive surprise here as he may very well be the film's MVP.This is the story of two men forming a friendship after one of them becomes an employee of the other. When the boss' beautiful wife comes into play, things turn sour quickly in their relationship however. It becomes clear relatively quickly that not all of the trio will survive it somehow, even with the reference towards one character falling of a cliff early on. The big question, however, would be which one(s) would turn out to get sacrificed at the end. This is also one of the most interesting aspects and Petzold comes up with a good finale for sure. I personally would call myself a fan of the filmmaker. This one here is probably not my most favorite film of him, but I still enjoyed thanks to the inclusions of interesting plot points like betrayal, violence and conspiracy. A really dark film actually, one of Petzold'Äs darkest perhaps. I think the fact why he is so good right now is that he usually does not include many characters in the center of his films and that he does without pointless supporting characters that add absolutely nothing because they are underwritten or don't get the screen time they need in order to work out. All the minor characters in here, even if they have only one scene, add something to the movie, not because we remember them, but because we remember what their scenes told us about the protagonists, like the scene with the Asian clerk and the reactions of both Sözer and Fürmann are pretty interesting to watch. The consequence is that the central characters are elaborated on even more and honestly, this is what every quality film needs. One of the better German movie from the 21st century for sure. I recommend checking it out because it feels so authentic and atmospheric at the same time and I had the impression I was watching real characters from start to finish. Watch it.

Jerichow is a region in a part of East Germany that faces the Baltic Sea--it used to be in the GDR. A dishonorably discharged Afghanistan veteran Thomas returns to his home village of Jerichow. There after witnessing a wreck with a guy who was drinking he meets Ali who hires him as a driver. Ali (Hilmi Sozer), a middle aged Turkish immigrant who owns of a snack-bar chain in Eastern German . Then Thomas meets Laura, his Turkish boss's young & attractive wife (Nina Hoss who is very beautiful). Thomas ( Benno Furmann) was in the Army during the war in Afghanistan he is at his mother's funeral & he has confrontation with business man he owes large sum of money to. So between them begins a classic love triangle. Petzold writes & directs a fine, tight film about 3 characters, each with a dark side to their character. It is a well directed & acted drama about a love & lust for the 3. The Ali character is the rich macho acting *ss*ole--he is not a happy man. The wife is the submissive beauty. Thomas is the quiet stoic strong army guy needing money & job. There is a resemblance to both versions of 'The Postman Always Rings Twice', also similar to the films by the late Reiner Werner Fassbinder Robert Bresson, & others.(as mentioned by others) This is an austere film making from director Petzold whose works are not well known in this country. The cinematography is really terrific & beautiful set in the desolate northeast Germany, where thick forests suddenly end on cliffs overlooking the Baltic Sea . The film also captures a social portrait of newly multicultural Germany, at least as it extends into the country's forgotten rural interior. The film does a good job giving us people in the dead ends they face & in the spiritual emptiness that causes people to do desperate things in search of happiness. In the end Ali ends up earning some of our sympathy is a testament to both Petzold's smart script & Sozer's deeply nuanced performance, a trait shared by his two co-actors.

Jericho lies at the Jordan, in Palestine, Jerichow in Sachsen-Anhalt, Germany. That is used to be in the GDR, you can recognize in the movie by the senseless license-plate initials "JL".Despite the film makers confession that this movie was inspired by "The Postman rings twice", there is for sure another movie, and a German movie, that must have been the direct source of "Jerichow" (2008), although Christian Petzold does not mention it: I mean R.W. Fassbinder's film "The Merchand of the Four Seasons" (1972). Both women - Irmgard and Laura - have no family of their own and married a man whom they never loved. Both Hans and Ali are drinkers. Both are suffering from a heart-disease and both kill themselves at the end. Hans is a green-grocer, Ali sells Turskish fast food. Both women, are relatively attractive and sleep with any other men whenever there is an opportunity. Both Hans and both Ali engage an auxiliary worker for themselves on the basis of confidence, and both wives cheat their men with these coworkers and steal money by aid of them from their husbands. Both Hans and Thomas have been "Blue Helmets", i.e. with the army abroad: Hans in the Foreign Legion, and Thomas in Afghanistan.While is it possible that Fassbinder had used the Postman-novel or the film by James M. Cain, the "Merchant of the Four Seasons" has much more parallels with "Jerichow" than "Jerichow" has with the "Postman". I still think that "Jerichow" is a very good movie, like all movies of Petzold, by the way, but it is a breach of decorum that the actual source has never been mentioned.

Jerichow is a region in a part of East Germany,that faces the North Atlantic. It is also the title of a grim,but well written,directed & acted drama about a love (lust?)triangle. Thomas (a stoic faced Benno Furmann)is one of life's losers,who was in the Army during the war in Afghanistan,who is on the run from being in debt with a business associate. Ali (Hilmi Sozer),a middle aged Turkish immigrant,who owns a chain of snack bars in central Eastern Germany & his beautiful,young wife (Nina Hoss,most easy on the eyes). Despite a somewhat strained friend ship between the three,paranoia & mistrust exist between two of the three parties (especially when Thomas & the wife start an affair). Christian Petzold writes & directs a fine,tart film about three characters,each with a dark side to their character. Besides a passing resemblance to both versions of 'The Postman Always Rings Twice', it may also remind you of films by the late Reiner Werner Fassbinder,Robert Bresson,and others. This is grim,but well intentioned film making from a director who's works are fairly unknown in this country (and let's hope that changes soon). As this is an import,distributed by a small independent studio,it is not rated by the MPAA,but contains pervasive language,sexual situations,nudity & violence (although nothing too gory).