Transit

I am not very keen on the new releases this week so I have decided to check out a few independent films instead.  I started last night with Transit because the trailer was so haunting and I couldn't stop thinking about it.  Unnamed fascists have come to power in Europe and the city of Paris has been occupied.  Soldiers begin rounding up people for ethnic cleansing so Georg (Franz Rogowski) must flee the city as soon as possible.  He is asked by a friend to deliver two letters to a writer named Weidel but when he goes to his hotel room he discovers that Weidel has committed suicide.  One of the letters is from his estranged wife Marie (Paula Beer) and one is is from the Mexican Consulate giving Weidel and his wife exit visas, a wire transfer of money, and passage for both of them on a ship leaving from the port city of Marseilles.  Georg travels to Marseilles and impersonates Weidel to get the exit visa.  He is extremely affected by the refugees he meets in his hotel, at the consulate, and in the bar he frequents as he waits for the ship to depart and he feels tremendous guilt, especially about leaving behind a young boy he has befriended.  Soon he encounters Marie, who is in Marseilles with her lover (who has an exit visit and will soon leave her behind) and is desperate to find her husband to get the visa he has for her.  She doesn't know that her husband is dead or that Georg is impersonating him but keeps encountering him in her search.  Eventually Georg falls in love with her and offers to get her a visa without telling her how or what he has done which complicates the situation with her lover.  What makes this film so powerful is that, while it references many of the events of World War II, it is set in an indefinite time period without the Nazi iconography and I found that to be incredibly menacing because it could be happening now.  The soldiers are wearing riot gear instead of jackboots and there is a terrifying scene where a woman is dragged out of a hotel while the other refugees watch with relief that it isn't them being arrested.  The scenes in the consulate are filled with a desperation that is palpable and the tension is almost unbearable as the characters try to outrun the invading army.  All of the characters have multi-layered relationships with others but they are ultimately alone in their quest for survival and there are many existential themes explored.  Both Rogowski and Beers give compelling and sympathetic performances which will haunt you long after you leave the theater.  This film reminded me of Casablanca but with much higher stakes and I highly recommend it!