In The Fade is a 2018 drama about Katjaa woman’s whose life collapses after the death of her husband and son in a bomb attack.
Terrorism in the movies is always a tricky thread to spin, with mindless action movies using it as catalyst for over-the-top explosive comeuppance and other more personal films taking to stories of aftermath and recovery. With Fatih Akin‘s latest mixed language effort, we get a bit of both with a film that keeps its audience squirming on where to stand, the emotional impact and tragedy of loss also fueling a thirst for revenge. It’s a raw film that poses some serious questions and leads to a tough end, making this a troubling experience.
In a German prison, Turkish immigrant Nuri Sekerci (Numan Acar), serving time for drug trafficking, is having a good day. He’s marrying Katja (Diane Kruger) in a small ceremony within the jail. It’s the beginnings of what’s hoped to be important change. Seven years later, they are now working class, he keeping legitimate as a tax consultant while they raise their 6-year-old son, Rocco (Rafael Santana). One day, after dropping Rocco off at Nuri’s office, Katja heads out to spend the day with her friend Birgit (Samia Chancrin). However, on her return, she learns a small bomb has killed her family. It sends her into a spiral of despair, and soon drug abuse, before she learns who was behind it, prompting a need to take justice into her own hands.
The devastation of such loss lies as the heart of Akin’s film, and certainly, this is where the movie spends a great deal of time, giving the setup to Nuri and Katja’s love story enough time to set hooks. Divided into title-card led chapters, we begin with their happy marriage as a prison full of inmates cheer and celebrate their informal wedding. This sets the stage for a story about personalities rather and action, and indeed, Akin does wisely in leaving out much that others might feel compelled to exploit. For instance, we never see the explosion that killed Nuri and Rocco, Katja driving up to the emergency efforts already in progress. It’s a powerful moment that helps give the first half tremendous weight. We also learn than Katja may have in fact seen who planted the bomb, pressing further guilt upon the already fractured woman.
READ MORE: Review of the Biographical Drama Bomb City
A trial comes when two Neo-Nazi suspects are arrested, the movie shifting to a lengthy courtroom drama that offers hope for conviction but in the process sees Katja descend into darkness, her in-laws blaming her, and a lawyer, Danilo (Denis Moschitto), making promises he might not be able to deliver. These moments in court are crucial, leading to Katja’s own time on the stand that proves equally affecting.
The film is sort of on rails though, driving us to an eventual conclusion that is surely going to divide its audience. Akin, who co-wrote the screenplay, works hard to connect the dots that lead Katja to her actions and by doing so, creates a film that is surprisingly quiet while stoking conversation about the times we live in. Kruger, who has earned well-deserved praise for her work is at her best and Akin’s excellent direction make this well worth a look.