Ines Conradi (Sandra Hüller) is a workaholic businesswoman who,
in her father’s (Peter Simonischek) view, is neglecting not only her family but
herself too. All that counts to her is her career but he wants to spend time
with his daughter. Therefore, after the death of his ancient dog, he heads off
to visit her in Bucharest where she is a management consultant specialising in
'outsourcing', basically firing people on behalf of their clients.
Whilst she seems efficient at her job, he quickly realises
that she is far from happy with her life even though she pretends to be fine. He
ends up telling a business contact of hers that he's hired a replacement
daughter because his real daughter is too busy to spend time with him.
Having been shocked to see him in the first place and with
not really having time to entertain him, she is relived when he is persuaded to
return home after only a few days. Only for her to run into him again at a city
bar while she is out with some friends. Except only this time he is in
'disguise', he is Toni Erdmann.
At this point, as things gradually get ever more bizarre, I’m
not sure if Toni is for real or whether she has ‘Toni’, or more perhaps accurately
an imaginary father, inside her head.
Either way ‘Toni’ worms his way into her life, handcuffing
himself to his daughter making her feel even more trapped by life than she already
feels. Yet after this, she still takes him to work with her where he tells
outlandish tales to her clients and even introduces himself as the German Ambassador
to Romania.
Yet, wherever she goes, she presents the same deadpan face to
everyone. From her business clients, to her father and even to her secret
lover\work colleague Tim (Trystan Pütter) where we get the most emotionless non-love
scene on the planet that ends in a threesome of sorts with a plate of petit
fours.
Then she throws a nude party perhaps symbolic of how exposed
she feels in her job. It doesn’t really go down well with anyone except her subservient
Romanian assistant Anca (Ingrid Bisu) who would do almost anything to please
her boss. Even there though she cannot escape her father who turns up as a furry
Bulgarian ‘Kukeri’ creature.
It’s certainly a different sort of film and I liked it. Now
stand by for Hollywood to make a real mess of a remake.
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