Screenings
- Stenen Hoofd – Amsterdam
- Utrecht
Exil
- long
- 121'
- English subtitles
Are you ready for a virtuosic masterclass in sustained discomfort? From Exile’s opening scene, where chemical engineer Xhafer walks home through his bucolic German suburb only to find a dead rat hanging from his front gate, there’s no escape in this immaculately crafted pressure cooker.
Born in Kosovo, Xhafer (Mišel Matičević, in a compelling, controlled performance) begins to see racism around every corner. But where he finds microaggressions, gaslighting and hatred at every turn, his German wife (Toni Erdmann’s Sandra Hüller) only sees paranoia and honest mistakes. As it becomes clear Xhafer is no innocent himself, the line between real and imagined slights blurs, and his simmering anger slowly rises to a boil.
Exil combines thriller-like elements, idiosyncratic behaviour worthy of Yorgos Lanthimos and humour based in awkward moments that hang in the air like a bad smell. – ScreenDaily
