This picture kicks off with a scene we may think we’ve seen many times: a tryout at a prestigious music school. A group of exacting adults assesses a series of young classical players; we may think the aspiring ones sound OK or better, but the grown-ups are brutal. It’s their job to be, and their ears are trained to be.
One kid catches the ear of Anna, who thinks she can get him up to speed. Not for a position in an orchestra or ensemble, but … another audition.
Anna is played by Nina Hoss, the outstanding actor who lit up Christian Petzold’s “Phoenix” and who’s been outstanding in other films by that director. “The Audition,” directed by Ina Weisse (and co-written with Daphne Charizani), doesn’t concentrate entirely on Anna’s work with the student, played by Ilja Monti, but presents it as part of a package of dissatisfactions.
Her home life — she’s married to a genial luthier, and her early-teens son plays music and hockey — seems serene at first, but there are fissures. In one key exchange with her husband, he tells her: “I can’t spend all my days having feelings. You told me once that you were the same.”
As she now needs more in the emotional availability department, she’s having an affair with a colleague. Her own musical ambitions, and abilities, are also brought into play as her work with her student approaches a boiling point.
Hoss’s work is impeccable and illuminating, and the movie’s foursquare, frank, brisk approach is salutary. But its final scenes lean into triteness and frustrating evasiveness, which makes the picture a less than entirely satisfying experience.
The Audition
Not rated. In German and French, with subtitles. Running time: 1 hour 30 minutes. Watch through virtual cinemas.
Source: Movies - nytimes.com
