Min pappa Toni Erdmann (or) Toni Erdmann (German, 2016)

Maren Ade (the film’s writer & director) displays crystal-clear clarity in thought as the two prime characters are defined brilliantly and the helplessness in the daughter’s realisation of the blood (father’s traits) being thicker than water (the superfluous adapted character) is portrayed effortlessly.

Peter Simonischek, who plays the peculiar pop Winfried & the fabricated Toni Erdmann is a riot on screen. He holds fort as he sways between the personality-arcs of humour and simplistic approach to life with ease. Sandra Huller makes her humungous task of matching Peter on screen look easy with her crisp portrayal of Ines Conradi – the globe-trotting Consultant with lofty ambitions.

Dialogues, exchanges and efficient story-telling make the film lively and the range of topics covered are not meant just for fun – In the process, it asks uncomfortable and pertinent questions to the modern global economy. The song that Ines is forced to sing impromptu and its lyrics tell us a tale of her childhood in about one minute!

Telling stories through characters is an art – Here we get to see two roles do that in particular.A village worker, who is requested by Toni to not lose his humour even in times of uncertainty shrouding his employment & the role of Executive Assistant touches us as she yearns for recognition in a fast moving corporate world that takes these folks for granted.

The editing by Heike Parplies cleverly emphasizes how the brakes are applied by the father on the fast-moving city life his daughter is consumed by.

The cheeky point about the herd-mentality that drives the modern world notwithstanding, the bizarre third act could be quiet discomforting if this ‘family-film’ is watched by a family together.