The Forest for the Trees
Directed by Maren Ade
Reviewed by Catherine MacLennan
Maren Ade's excellent debut film The Forest for the Trees (Der Wald Vor Lauter Baumen) is a very effective, humane portrayal of a young teacher's struggles, isolation, and emotional breakdown.
Melanie (played by Eva Lobau) is fresh from a break-up with her boyfriend, but is moving on: a new town, a new apartment, and a new job as a teacher. Full of hope and energy, she is busy decorating her new place and greets her new neighbors with a little gift she has made for them. At the school she takes in all the details as she is shown about the building, marveling the classroom that she will teach in, and is excited to her the school bell for the first time. In her neighborhood, there is a small sense of familiarity when she recognizes that a shop clerk lives nearby (and could possibly become a friend).
But soon, all that hope is crushed - her classes are out of control with wild, rude students. Rude parents won't acknowledge their children's bad behavior and her colleagues are cold, unsupportive and critical. Further, as a teacher, her position demands that she must maintain an aura of authority, so she cannot be seen asking for or needing help.
Melanie has no one to turn to. We see her in a brief conversation with her mother, saying everything is fine and she will be not coming to visit. She makes a call to her ex, but again there is no conversation. Her only hope for a friend in this horrible time is her neighbor, Tina, who works in the shop. Desperate for a diversion and a connection, she looks across into Tina's apartment and wonders about her. Initially, things are ok between the two as Tina and Melanie pay each other small visits, but Melanie's need for companionship warps her own behavior and her ability to see people and things clearly. Not realizing it, she stalks Tina and imagines a friendship when it appears less and less likely. This small weak bond was never meant to last – Tina has her own problems - her on/off relationship with her boyfriend, and she has her own friends and doesn't need Melanie. Further, they are quite different people - Tina sells fashionable clothes in a shop and is blunter, less sensitive; Melanie is a science and math teacher, and sweet. Through a series of excruciating missteps on Melanie's part, Tina finally shuts her out. Melanie is devastated.
The pressure, the anger, and the unhappiness builds and breaks, and we see Melanie burst into tears as she drives along the highway. While the end has been misinterpreted by some as a final one (perhaps viewers have been trained by Hollywood's quickest, biggest, bloodiest cinematic solutions), the end is actually a perfect one for the film: it is about letting go, a move that will eventually bring the sunlight through the trees and, as the voice sings, will "welcome her back to solid ground." The Forest for the Trees is excellent in every facet - featuring an amazing performance by lead Eva Lobau, an equally good supporting cast, and a script that is very true to life. While the film follows Melanie's struggles with sympathy it also incorporates the points of view of the other characters. Ade avoided any simplistic endings that would have been false, devising instead an ending that is both magical and completely realistic. The audience could be heard gasping, and laughing, throughout the film and was eager to discuss the film when the lights came up. Maren Ade's The Forest for the Trees is a wise, warm and altogether successful first feature.
The Lamp. November 2004