fabian

a film by Dominik Graf • 2h58

With

Tom Schilling, Albrecht Schuch, Saskia Rosendahl

Synopsis

Berlin, 1931. Jakob Fabian works in the advertising department of a cigarette factory during the day and drifts through bars, brothels and artist studios with his wealthy friend Labude at night. When Fabian gets to know the self-confident Cornelia, he manages to shed his pessimistic attitude for a brief moment. He falls in love. But then he too falls victim to the great wave of layoffs, while Cornelia makes a career as an actress thanks to her boss and admirer. An arrangement that Fabian finds difficult to come to terms with. But it’s not just his world that is falling apart…

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Awards

Official Competition — Berlinale 2021

Press

Fabian could be one of those rare contemporary German films to make a significant mark on a wider stage.
Screen International
Graf’s Weimar Republic drama boldly straddles the realms of costume realism and experiment.
Screen International
The film’s trump card is the heady stylistic verve mustered by Graf, who uses very free visual and narrative flourishes to give this potentially sombre material a propulsive thrust.
Screen International
As the redeemed idealist who retains his integrity as the world falls apart, Schilling combines intensity and a lightness of touch, together with the candour that marked his lead in 2012 comedy-drama hit Oh Boy. And Rosendahl gives Cornelia a mercurial, alert, sometimes perplexing energy that shows her character as, from the start, every bit the actress she aspires to be.
Screen International
This adaptation of Erich Kastner’s now classic 1931 novel marks a stylistically daring attempt to capture the zeitgeist by director Dominik Graf, who returns to Berlin competition.
The Hollywood Reporter
Schilling [plays] an engaging, complex Fabian.
The Hollywood Reporter
Schilling and Rosendahl, anchoring the emotional pull with projections of warmth and sincerity so appealing that Fabian’s initial cynicism is saved from feeling off-putting.
Variety
Fabian” is fascinating aesthetically because it unfolds like avant-garde jazz (…) Graf makes “Going to the Dogs” an unpredictable visual experience.
Indiewire

Credits

Screenplay: Constantin Lieb, Dominik Graf
Cinematography: Hanno Lentz
Editing: Claudia Wolscht
Sound: Martin Witte
Mixing: Michael Stecher
Production design: Claus-Jürgen Pfeiffer
Costumes: Barbara Grupp
Music: Sven Rossenbach, Florian van Volxem, Piano, performed and composed by Richie Beirach
Produced by: Felix von Boehm - Lupa Film
French distribution: Les Films du Losange
International sales: Les Films du Losange