70 min
10
2021
Germany
"The Straw That Broke" is a surrealist, micro-budget meta-fiction feature blending retro-futuristic aesthetics with philosophy to explore the boundaries between reality and the digital realm. "The virtual is viral," announces Clea Bardan, editor at DeBase SF, to Claudia Weiss, her overworked author of futuristic pulp fiction. Clea demands an impossible task: write five volumes within 31 hours. Claudia's journey spans from Stuttgart to Nueva York, a Harkonnen spaceship, and a water-based planet holding the secret to saving the multiverse from the O-Cloud—a virus destroying sentient life at its ontological core. But how much of this reality is authentic, and can a talking mouse from Claudia's own stories save the multiverse? Using diverse cinematic devices, the film tackles deep metaphysical questions while remaining a poignant story about loss, love, and hope for us all.
Overview
Reviews
Cosmic_Shrimp_12051 wrote:Review by the German Federal Film and Media Assessment Board (FBW)
Rating: Certified "Highly Commended" (Prädikat Wertvoll)
Starting from a frigidly futuristic business setting, an appropriately detached editor gives the chronically underpaid author Claudia the assignment to write five volumes of her sci-fi pulp novels within 36 hours, despite having only three data ports at her disposal. Thus begins a trip that transcends any everyday experience, leading from her one-room sanctuary out into diverse worlds—where the question soon arises as to how real or virtual these realms are within the context of the film’s story. Perhaps, as the jury suggests, she is telling her journey more as a fragmented nightmare world.
Along the way, Claudia discusses various metaphysical issues. Both with her ex-boyfriend and with other characters from her narrative worlds. These characters are at times hostile, at times supportive. A noticeable constant is that technology and digitalization have taken over all areas of life throughout the entire 'multiverse,' even during the intake of food. Thus, Claudia also appears as a partial android; at the very least, her three ports enable a superhuman intake and processing of information. Significantly, the meaning of money is the only subject from today’s world that has survived.
At first, one does not look for a narrative thread and is fascinated by a cyber-technologized post-world in which human identity and what it means to be human are called into question. This is also due to the convincing, trashy settings, which always convey something simultaneously familiar and dismissively futuristic, still bearing witness to an affinity for life that has actually long since retreated from the post-world. Since we are guided through a kind of dream, these worlds seem less harsh.
The jury is reminded of Super 8 trash films from the 1950s and 60s or of Stanisław Lem, and even if—or precisely because—individual scenes sometimes feel like cheap theater, one clearly senses a distinct indie-film power and a concise, coherent cinematic language. Yet this 70-minute film, labeled as experimental (leaving the jury to ponder its best programming fit), ultimately offers a narrative that focuses on Claudia’s journey. The very structure of a journey makes the viewer want to know: What is her vision? What drives her, beyond simply completing the five volumes? Is it about saving humanity—or the multiverse—from the aforementioned virus, the "O-Cloud"? This common thread is difficult to decipher; the stations, characters, and conversations remain too perplexing. At times, this is exhausting for the jury, but it also reinforces the impression of being lost—not only Claudia, but beyond her. Her character and her search continuously radiate loss.
The ideas, some of them quite witty—such as the clever, talking mouse that seemingly escaped from her stories—along with the use of stop-motion and the often-interesting film locations, subtly complemented by futuristic VFX worlds, string together without aiming for a single meaningful or chronological reception. Director Valentin Hennig and Tom Whalen as writer reflect on the massive transformation of our society in a timeless way. Thus, this highly idiosyncratic search for traces of identity in a post-world that may no longer be salvageable can thoroughly captivate, even if a somewhat conflicted overall impression remains.
Weighing all arguments and following a very exciting discussion, the FBW jury is pleased to award the film the certificate HIGHLY COMMENDED (Prädikat WERTVOLL).
renatosettembre wrote:I had a preview screening through the scriptwriter. I had seen some glimpses of the film during its production, but seeing it complete was still a very surprising experience. I know Tom Whalen's writing from before, and I very appreciated all the metaphysical and verbal turns, which set a good rhythm as the film spirals forward. Also, the sci-fi props and settings work pretty well despite — and sometimes even because of! — the limited budget. It somehow sticks in the memory. I recommend it!
Raredave wrote:The planet in the movie *The Straw That Broke* is the kind of “other” world you might find in works by Stanislaw Lem or Philip K. Dick. But the screenplay was written by modernist American writer Tom Whalen and the film directed by German visual artist and filmmaker Valentin Hennig.
STRAW, as this film is affectionately known, had a limited released in 2021. Its appearance on YouTube will be a milestone, allowing access to a fascinating film relatively few people have had the privilege to see. I count myself as one of the lucky individuals to have experienced it already.
The central character, Claudia, is a writer of pulp adventure and suspense novels who has become dependent on story content pumped directly into her brain through data ports drilled into her noggin. There comes a breaking point, and the novelist embarks on a redemptive mission. This alternative world will seem beyond strange, but I believe you’ll find its truthfulness undeniable.
Every time I’ve seen STRAW, I discover echoes in our own agreed-upon reality. This time the killer bots had me thinking of the drones deployed in the unfortunate and tragic war between Ukraine and Russia. A scene of an impending “surgery” on Encyclopedia Mouse (yes, a loquacious and knowing rodent is in the movie) had me considering Mengele’s medical experiments at Auschwitz. And what does one make of the malevolent and monstrous Roithamer?
While STRAW is a fantastic story informed by the stuff of dystopian and science fiction, it has its own take on the world in a wonderfully wrought story that can be both wickedly wacky and sadly tragic. I suspect when you see it, you will care deeply about the characters in the movie’s strange but recognizable landscape.
I’ve watched *The Straw That Broke* several times. I know I’ll do so again. It’s a kind of never-ending story.
