Baden Baden (2016)

Ana, a young woman working as a driver on a film set is bombing badly. She's gotten the job, not because she is a good driver, but simply has a license. As the job goes away she decides to return home and ends up rebuilding her grandmother's bathroom. What follows are a series of episodes as she attempts to find a direction in life.

How do I do this film justice? How do I explain what the film is? Less conventional narrative then a kind of arc of a life over a certain period of time  BADEN BADEN is more like dropping in on someone's life over a period of time. We are left to fill the silences and the breaks and sort it all out for ourselves. We meet the various people in Ana's life and we watch how the loosely connected moments play out.

Its kind of bold way of doing things since it assumes the audience is going to fall into the pacing. On the other hand the film has enough winning characters that we'll follow them anywhere.

What can I say? Rachel Lang's BADEN BADEN will make most people smile. To be certain that some will appreciate it's off kilter sensibilities more than others but those willing to give themselves over to it's unique rhythms will find they have done more than merely killed time.

BADEN BADEN starts Friday in Theaters. It, along with other films by Rachel Lang, will play on Mubi in December.