Afire

Afire (German: Roter Himmel, lit. 'Red Sky') is a 2023 German drama film directed by Christian Petzold, starring Thomas Schubert, Paula Beer, Langston Uibel and Enno Trebs. The relationship drama focuses on four people who are trapped in their holiday home on the Baltic Sea by uncontrolled forest fires.[2][3]

Afire
Theatrical release poster
GermanRoter Himmel
Directed byChristian Petzold
Screenplay byChristian Petzold
Produced by
  • Florian Koerner von Gustorf
  • Michael Weber
  • Anton Kaiser
Starring
  • Thomas Schubert
  • Paula Beer
  • Langston Uibel
  • Enno Trebs
CinematographyHans Fromm
Edited byBettina Böhler
Production
company
  • Schramm Film Koerner Weber Kaiser
Distributed by
  • The Match Factory GmbH
  • Piffl Medien
Release dates
  • 22 February 2023 (2023-02-22) (Berlinale)
  • 20 April 2023 (2023-04-20) (Germany)
Running time
103 minutes
Country
  • Germany
LanguageGerman
Box office$2 million[1]

The film won the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize[4] at the 73rd Berlin International Film Festival, where it had its world premiere on 22 February 2023.[5] It was released theatrically in Germany on 20 April 2023.[6] In August 2023, it was shortlisted as the German submissions for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film for the 96th Academy Awards.[7]

Synopsis

In a holiday home on the Baltic Sea not far from Ahrenshoop in hot, dry summer, four young persons meet. There is a forest fire and slowly and unnoticeably they are enclosed by the walls of flame. Trapped, they get closer, and then the desire, love and sex overtakes them.

Cast

Production

In October 2020, Christian Petzold revealed his next film, a gay love story. He revealed that he wants to make a series of films loosely inspired by the classical elements of water, earth, fire and air. Starting with Undine in 2020, a tale of water nymph, fire will rise for Afire.[3][8]

The film was shot from 28 June 2022 to 17 August 2022 in Ahrenshoop.[3]

Release

Afire had its premiere on 22 February 2023 as part of the 73rd Berlin International Film Festival, in competition. It was released in cinemas on 20 April 2023.[6] The film also made it to 'Perlak' section of the 71st San Sebastián International Film Festival to be held from 22 to 30 September 2023.[9]

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 91% based on 106 reviews, with an average rating of 7.8/10.[10] On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 82 out of 100 based on 28 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[11]

Nicholas Bell in IonCinema.com graded the film 3.5/5 and wrote, "the real pleasure is in Petzold’s writing of his characters, and there’s an oddly satisfying authenticity to the discomforts and aggressions caused by Leon’s pretension-as-self-defense moments."[12] Ben Croll reviewing for IndieWire graded the film B- and wrote, "Petzold tries to take the air out of a pompous windbag, and more often than not succeeds to delightful and caustic effect."[13] Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian rated the film with 2 stars out of 5 and wrote, "The tonal change is not really convincing, and I wished that the film's potential for lighter comedy had been developed more. Even so, it’s a strong performance from Schubert.[14]

Accolades

Afire was shortlisted for 36th European Film Awards, nominations for which will be announced on 7 November, and the awards ceremony takes place on 9 December in Berlin.[15]

Christian Petzold, with the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize for Afire
Award Date Category Recipient Result Ref.
Berlin International Film Festival 25 February 2023 Golden Bear Christian Petzold Nominated [16][4]
Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize Won
Sydney Film Festival 18 June 2023 Best Film Afire Nominated [17]

References
  1. "Afire (2022)". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  2. Katz, David (11 July 2022). "Afire dawns for Christian Petzold and Paula Beer". Cineuropa. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
  3. "Roter Himmel" [Afire]. Crew United (in German). 8 February 2023. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
  4. Scott Roxborough (25 February 2023). "Berlin: French Documentary 'On the Adamant' Wins Golden Bear for Best Film". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
  5. Rosser, Michael (23 January 2023). "Berlin Film Festival reveals 2023 competition line-up". Screen Daily. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
  6. "Afire". filmportal.de. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
  7. Roxborough, Scott (14 August 2023). "Oscars: 'Teachers' Lounge,' Wim Wenders' 'Anselm' on Germany's 2024 International Feature Shortlist". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  8. Pearce, Leonard (9 October 2020). "Christian Petzold Reveals His Next Film is a Gay Love Story Titled The Red Sky". The Films Stage. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
  9. Roxborough, Scott (18 August 2023). "San Sebastian Festival to Screen 'May December,' 'Zone of Interest,' 'Past Lives' in Best-of Sidebar". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
  10. "Afire". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  11. "Afire". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  12. Bell, Nicholas (22 February 2023). "Pleasure to Burn: Petzold Stokes the Flames in Diffident Drama". IonCinema.com. Retrieved 23 February 2023.
  13. Croll, Ben (22 February 2023). "'Afire' Review: Christian Petzold Takes a Smoldering Tour Through the Life of the Mind". IndieWire. Retrieved 23 February 2023.
  14. Bradshaw, Peter (22 February 2023). "Afire (Roter Himmel) review – useless-author comedy-drama in saga of angst and lust". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 February 2023.
  15. "The European Film Awards announce 21 further feature films to be added to the their selection". Cineuropa. 27 September 2023. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
  16. Ramachandran, Naman; Vivarelli, Nick (23 January 2023). "Berlin Film Festival Reveals Competition Lineup (Updating Live)". Variety. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
  17. Frater, Patrick (9 May 2023). "Sydney Film Festival Unveils Bumper Lineup for 70th Edition". Variety. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
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