Afire

Audience Reviews

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Roy J Aug 9, 2023 The acting and direction kept my attention even though there isn't much going on. I really liked it until the ending...the jerk protagonist doesn't deserve that ending. See more

Jenny K @RT23392020 Sep 7, 2026 This is, quite simply, a bad movie. How it managed to be awarded best film at a film festival is flabbergasting. It’s badly written, badly filmed, badly directed and the production values are low. It looks like it was filmed on video by a student at film school. The pacing is incredibly flat and slow. It’s like a tedious holiday one didn’t want to go on, complete with people one doesn’t want to know, and everything boring and irritating that could be left in has been left in e.g. mosquitoes buzz throughout the film. We already got the idea there are insects but the director is so unsubtle he has to hammer you over the head with everything. The love interest recites the same poem twice. Boring the audience like this is simply unforgivable. The central character is unlikeable and his dilemma quite possibly evokes the reality of the movie’s own writer—he can’t write and what he produces is rubbish. Don’t waste your time on this turgid, pointless, pompous movie. I wish I hadn't. See more

Keith R @RT18927718 Aug 16, 2025 It is a clean, simple film in many ways - never heavy or pedantic but makes its points in an understated fashion. It allows the viewer to work at really understanding the characters, figuring out what is truly going on in the relationships … and who, indeed, is the lead character of the film, which is often not fully apparent. I don't speak enough German to follow all the dialog, but the subtitles are very good and straightforward. They definitely keep up with the action, don’t draw attention to themselves, and leave you with time to think and appreciate everything that is going on, often from more than one perspective. Watch it through the credits … the soundtrack at the end is repetitive in a club music kind of way. It provides a good hypnotic ‘space’ where you can think through what you just watched as the credits roll by. This is my first Christian Petzhold film and I will definitely watch more of his movies. I like his direct style, light touch, superficially uncomplicated characters, and ability to mix humor and humanity with underlying themes that are valuable to suss out and consider in life. See more

Richard B @RichardB12314 Jan 6, 2025 It's a bit of a mixed bag. The writer depicted is trying to finish a book "Club Sandwich" which this movie should be called, other than the forest fire theme. Some disposable characters were shallow and Paula Beer stays mysterious to the point of being a cypher, so not much more developed than the other supporting actors. The ending of the movie saved it for me in how books can't be a complete psychosis if they are to resonate with people. They must have something rooted in reality to give it any consequence. See more

Kevin L @Lakeman Dec 26, 2024 I haven't much enjoyed the last two Petzold films I've seen. I've been a fan since seeing "Jerichow" and "Barbara". "Phoenix" is a brilliant work. But these last two have left me flat. "Afire" was just a drag for me until the last twenty-some minutes. It made up for some of the previous runtime, as there was actual content that moved me and stirred real interest. Paula Beer is lovely, and a joy to watch on screen. Her smile is addictive. Thomas Schubert, I will admit, is great as an utterly miserable, joyless putz. The other two principal players I supposed did their jobs, but I felt their characters were just annoying and largely a bore. So, this one I'll give 2.8 stars since the ending was fairly strong. See more

Alec B @Alec97 Mar 4, 2024 Writers that hate themselves are almost as insufferable as those who think they are God's gift to humanity. There's a sadness to the movie that does make the main character slightly more tolerable. See more

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Afire

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