IN THE FADE (AUS DEM nichts) SPEC D: Fatih Akin. Germany/France. 105 min. Sep 12, 9:30 pm, Elgin Sep 13, 3:30 pm, TIFF Bell Lightbox 1 Sep 17, 9:30 pm, Scotiabank 1. Rating: NN
A tour de force performance by Diane Kruger (in her first film in her German homeland) won her best actress at Cannes this year.
After Kruger’s character’s Kurdish-born husband and son are murdered by neo-Nazis in a terrorist incident, she pulls herself together (conveying visible inner strength seasoned with emotional vulnerability) and puts her faith in a flawed justice system.
Technically brilliant on the outside the performance is ultimately hollow, given the schematic plot that descends into a revenge action flick. It’s an unfortunate waste of talent all round.
