Blessed Events

Blessed Events is a seriously bizarre little movie revolving around a mousy thirtysomething (Annika Kuhl’s Simone) who has a one-night stand on New Year’s Eve with Hannes (Stefan Rudolf), with the remainder of the proceedings detailing Simone’s increasingly domestic relationship with Hannes. It’s a simple premise that’s employed to consistently oddball effect by filmmaker Isabelle Stever, as the director has peppered the proceedings with an almost absurd number of curious elements (ie in an early scene, Simone arrives home with a mysterious piece of meat and, while cooking it on her stovetop, steps into the bathroom to apparently vomit). The inclusion of such inexplicable moments forces the viewer to approach Blessed Events as more of a mystery than as a character study, yet, as ultimately becomes clear, Stever has clearly intended the movie to come off as a run-of-the-mill drama (as evidenced by the shockingly abrupt and comparatively normal final shot). The bizarre dichotomy between the film’s two perspectives would surely be a whole lot easier to take had Stever not infused the movie with an insanely uneventful structure, as the emphasis is consistently placed on staggeringly mundane happenings (eg Simone and Hannes head to the store to buy a stroller). The watchable yet uninvolving atmosphere (ie this is exactly the kind of film that’s destined to provoke long jaunts of daydreaming among viewers) ensures that Blessed Events never even comes close to packing the punch that Stever has clearly intended, with the ongoing presence of frustratingly unexplained elements (eg what’s the deal with the bearded neighbor that seems to know Simone?) cementing Blessed Events‘ place as a misguided bit of avant-garde filmmaking.

*1/2 out of ****