Sandra Wollner's 'Everytime' Explores Digital Memory And Afterlife

(MENAFN- USA Art News) Sandra Wollner's film Everytime, Germany's official submission to this year's Academy Awards, uses digital memory to explore themes of the afterlife. The drama features Birgit Minichmayr as Ella, Carla Hüttermann as Jessie, Lotte Shirin Keiling as Melli, and Tristán López as Lux, with a running time of 124 minutes.

The film, rated 3.5 out of 4 stars, begins with a German family of three: Ella, her thoughtful teenage daughter Jessie, and her younger daughter Melli. Their initial conversations revolve around the sisters sharing a room and a planned family vacation to Tenerife. Director Wollner and cinematographer Gregory Oke capture the family from an observational distance, with strange off-screen sounds occasionally distracting Jessie.

Jessie's story takes a tragic turn when she falls to her death from a Berlin rooftop after attending a techno rave with her boyfriend, Lux. Some time later, Ella and Melli maintain a cordial relationship with Lux, despite underlying resentment. The trio then decides to proceed with the previously planned Tenerife vacation, bringing unresolved emotions to the forefront.

Everytime delves into abstract themes, reflecting on Jessie through numerous digital photographs and old MiniDV videos. This suggests a preservation of her spirit through digital imprints. Ella eventually retraces her daughter's steps, observing unusual phenomena in empty spaces, much like Jessie did. The film posits that humanity is continually seeking answers to what lies beyond, a question made more complex in the digital age where people leave digital reflections through various media, including games like Minecraft, which Jessie meticulously crafted.

Wollner also subtly blurs the line between fiction and reality, treating it as a boundary between life and the afterlife through an atheistic perspective. The film is scheduled for a limited theatrical release in the United States from November 6 to 12. Critics compare it to films like Aftersun for its exploration of human memory in the information age. Other contemporary works, such as Sophy Romvari's Blue Heron, Marine Atlan's La Gradiva, and Kelly O'Sullivan and Alex Thompson's Mouse, similarly address themes of young lives cut short and their lasting impact.

Source: Observer Arts

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