Director Christian Petzold has crafted a number of films that I absolutely love (Undine, Phoenix, Transit), and unfortunately I have yet to catch his latest work Afire. Janus Contemporaries, in association with the Criterion Channel, will release Afire on Blu-ray and DVD February 20!
Afire centers on Leon (Thomas Schubert), a writer who is drawn to a young woman named Nadja (Paula Beer). She is carrying on a love affair with Devid (Enno Trebs), a lifeguard who works amidst the Baltic Sea. Ultimately Leon becomes drawn to Nadja and becomes a distraction for finishing his currently novel. Langston Uibel is Felix, a photographer who is vacationing with Leon.
Specific plot details are not of paramount importance to a Christian Petzold feature, as he has an innate ability to explore his characters’ inner lives within his narratives. I have watched Transit, Undine, and Phoenix several times and have come out with a much deeper experience. Hopefully that feeling stays the same with Afire.
The movie, which won the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize at the 2023 Berlin International Film Festival, is currently streaming on the Criterion Channel.
Check out our review of Petzold’s Undine (which co-starred Afire’s Paula Beer) during a past episode of Find Your Film:
Listen to our recent episode of CinemAddicts which features reviews of Billion Dollar Babies and Smoke Sauna Sisterhood.
