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FILM
16 Glebe Report March 10, 2017

shell. She is embarrassed in front of
her colleagues and further humiliated
At the when forced by her superiors to take
the wives of clients out shopping.
flicks may seem excessive, it does afford
While the length of Toni Erdmann

with the father and daughter characters an
opportunity to evolve. Winfried and
Lois and Paul Ines have embarked on a journey and
they are stuck with one another for
the duration. Although it is billed as
a comedy, Toni could just as easily be
considered a drama, albeit a drama
leavened by some very comic scenes.
Toni Erdmann This is in fact a “sad funny” film with
a decidedly sad undercurrent running
through it. And it is likely that this
Directed by Marion Ade very quality makes Toni Erdmann
(Germany/Austria 2016) such a human undertaking.
by Paul Green There is an uproariously funny
sequence in the third act where Ines
With a running time of just under is giving a party to celebrate her
three hours, Toni Erdmann more birthday, a party that is also meant
closely resembles a mini-series to serve as a team-building exercise.
than a feature film. This is perhaps (Beware corporations that subject
scarcely surprising as the director their employees to team-building
and writer, Marion Ade, is dealing exercises!) Ines experiences a ward-
with so much more than the decon- robe disaster seconds before her
The Founder and sensitive. These “boys” are a chal- struction of a darkly humorous guests are due to arrive, triggering . .
. well, triggering the breakdown she
father-daughter relationship; she is
lenge to Kroc. They don’t see things also addressing the human condition has been heading for since the begin-
Directed by John Lee Hancock the way he does. and the challenge of surviving in a ning. True to form, her father shows
Written by Robert D. Siegel Kroc is excited and impatient. He harsh, neo-liberal world without los- up wearing an impossible, seven-foot
(USA, 2017) talks them into signing a contract with ing one’s soul. tall ‘Bulgarian monster’ costume. She
him, one that they will eventually Peter Simonischek plays Win- chases him into a park and throws her
by Lois Siegel regret. You see, Kroc is not really a nice fried, a divorced, middle-aged father arms around him, crying out: “Papa,
guy. He focuses on what he can get out whose beloved dog has died and Papa!” And for the first time in the
Persistence: that’s what makes Ray of something. He’s greedy and doesn’t whose mother is ailing. Winfried film, Ines actually sounds human.
A. Kroc (Michael Keaton) tick. He really care what other people think of is a music teacher without pupils
learned this from a self-help record. him. Kroc’s wife Ethel (Laura Dern) who has taken to wearing zombie
It’s 1954 when we first meet him. puts up with all his flawed schemes and make-up and a set of false buck-
He’s a failing milkshake mixer sales- even forgives him when he almost loses teeth to scare the wits out of family
man from St. Louis, Missouri who their house, but he dumps her when members. Sandra Hüller is Ines, Win-
makes cold calls on fast food joints. business starts to boom. fried’s unhappy and, in this instance,
One problem is that the mixers he sells Franchising is his vision. He starts unmarried, 30-something daughter.
are too big for the average mom-and- with one McDonald’s and then Ines works as a management-level
pop outfit. Suddenly, an order comes expands. There’s no limit to what he consultant for a soul-destroying,
in from San Bernardino, California for wants to do. “If you increase sup- transnational corporation that spe-
multiple mixers. He can hardly believe ply, demand follows,” he insists. And cializes in what is euphemistically
it. Kroc drives off across country to it’s his idea to exploit the brother’s known as “outplacement,” that is,
find out who these buyers of eight “golden arches,” something people advising other companies in the fine
machines are. will remember. He pretends he created art of outsourcing, contracting out
He discovers two brothers, Dick McDonald’s, but he merely takes the and generally laying off hundreds of
(Nick Offerman) and Mac (John brothers’ ideas and runs with them. employees. And while Marion Ade
Carroll Lynch) who found a way to Time warp: Hamburgers are 15 does not unduly stress the point, neo-
automate the delivery of food with cents; people smoke in movie theatres. liberalism and concomitant corporate
amazing speed: 30 seconds from order McDonald’s is like the New American malfeasance are important leitmotivs
to take away. Their business has no Church. It’s open seven days a week. running through Toni Erdmann.
car service, just a window, so there’s Essentially, Kroc made McDonald’s With little left to live for, Win-
lots of loitering teens around and huge and took over many stores across fried sets out to save the soul of
their limited menu is the key to fast the United States. He made McDon- his wretched daughter who is now Winfried and Ines attend his moth-
service. Their machines are custom ald’s what it became. stressed to the breaking point both er’s funeral back in Germany; they
built, designed by them. They choreo- Kroc’s big breakthrough occurred by her work and her unhelpful male have some time to themselves and
graphed a layout for their business on when he met an accountant who colleagues. He joins her in Bucharest achieve a measure of reconcilia-
a tennis court in chalk, using their told him to own the land underneath where she is presently stationed. (And tion. It is not clear whether Ines is
workers to walk through the motions McDonald’s. This led to his financial this is most appropriate, what with still working for the outplacement
of the process of making the food, a success. But he did give the two broth- Eastern Europe the latest happy hunt- firm. One sincerely hopes she is not.
kind of pantomime to the terrific tune ers over a million dollars each in the ing ground for predatory Western Featuring two fine performances by
of “Music for a Found Harmonium” end for their company. Unfortunatley, corporations.) Still with his buckteeth Peter Simonischek and Sandra Hül-
by the Penguin Cafe Orchestra. Kroc I’m sure he robbed them of their pride. and now sporting a bad wig, Winfried ler, this very insightful film is well
is impressed. He’s determined to be It was a case of traditional values ver- tags along with his horrified daugh- suited to the parlous times we live in.
involved with this operation and he’s sus Ray Kroc. ter while passing himself off as “Toni
a fast learner. Erdmann,” personal coach to the Ger- In German with some English and
Dick is the cautious brains behind Pre-order Amazon.ca. DVD release man ambassador. Poor Ines’ response Romanian with English subtitles
the operation. Mac (as in Big Mac) date: April 2017 to the idiotic overtures of her well- Running time: 162 minutes.
towers over everyone. He’s very tall Running time: 115 minutes intentioned father is to retreat into her Scheduled for upcoming DVD release.