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LAB OF CULTURAL, CREATIVE AND FESTIVAL JOURNALISM
FILM REVIEW: Oh, This Void, This Unspeakable Void
In director/co-writer Simon Verhoeven’s Oh, This Void, This Unspeakable Void (Ach, diese Lücke, diese entsetzliche Lücke) Joachim Meyerhoff (Bruno Alexander) — a character based on the real-life author, actor, and director of the same name, also co writer of the screenplay — recounts through voiceover his journey through the ups and downs of becoming the artist he is today. by Daniel Morawitz
The trigger for Joachim's aspiration to study acting at Munich's renowned (and real) Otto Falckenberg School of the Performing Arts is the death of his brother. After getting in — to the surprise of both himself and his family — he moves in with his eccentric and borderline-alcoholic grandparents. This provides valuable experience, as his grandmother happens to be a famous actress, Inge Birkmann (Senta Berger), who helps him find his footing. Joachim has a hard time integrating himself into acting school and dealing with the anxiety-inducing realisation that his grandparents aren't getting any younger.
Here, we have the classic case of a film with good intentions that is bogged down by a script that feeds us every emotion through simplistic dialogue, overbearing music, and an over-produced visual style that comes across as looking too commercial and artificial to create any sort of realism. Verhoeven mistakes a small-scale story for something grandiose. He also seems unaware that the story Meyerhoff is recounting comes across as naïve and, very much a classic case of "first-world problems."
As he hails from a very privileged background and has first-hand connections to the art of acting through his grandmother — and even nabs his first screen role through her connections — nepo-baby Joachim seems much too- upset with everything and everyone. This is especially the case because of the way he gets handed everything to him; there are many people who would love to be in his position!
The saving grace is Alexander, who has already displayed considerable comedic chops in Die Discounter, the hit Amazon Prime show. This time, he is also able to flex his dramatic muscles — unfortunately, in service of a film that seems to be trying to appeal to as many German taxpayers and public TV-stations as possible, avoiding the rawness the material needs and instead opting to be as inoffensive as possible.
5th Lab of Cultural, Creative and Festival Journalism
European Film Festival Palić 2026
