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Two to One

Two to One (or Zwei zu Eins) is a true life heist film that holds up a light to the haphazardness of German reunification but is ultimately about fairness and belonging. In short, the main characters are slowly losing their jobs as East Germany prepares to rejoin the West after the collapse of the Soviet Union and her satellite states. Maren (Sandra Hüller) and Robert (Max Riemelt) are having an unemployment party when an old friend of the couple, Volker (Ronald Zehrfeld) returns from years abroad.

Disenchantment in the neighbourhood drives the trio to investigate the strange movement of army trucks to a local underground facility. A distant relative still works there and so is summarily co-opted to help them gain access to the 'bunker'. There they find bags and bags of disused East German marks, very soon to be out of circulation. Disappointed, they grab a bunch of notes anyway, more as a keepsake than anything else. When a door-to-door salesman offers to take the old currency for his goods (many citizens are still to trade in their money for the new marks), the group hit upon a plan.

The title refers to a triptych of ideas - one: a possible exchange rate between the old East German marks and West German marks (six to one was mentioned); two: the twin Germanies coming back together; and three: the complicated relationship between the three leads of the film. It becomes clear that Volker was a kind of romantic rival for Maren's affections before doing a runner to Hungary.

There are lots of nods to the end of socialism - the factory where many of them worked is a 'people's enterprise' - and the potentially worse advent of capitalism. This is a unique time in history to be investigating, what with the removal of the Berlin Wall and the mess that occurred in both Germanies at the time (though, I imagine, especially in the East).

Hüller is on fine form again (after recent stellar performances in Anatomy of a Fall and The Zone of Interest) and there are eye-catching turns from curmudgeonly Uncle Marko (Peter Kurth), crusty neighbour Lunkewitz (Martin Brambach) and the 'moral compass' of the group, Kate (Ursula Werner) as well.

It could have gone down the road of farce (the Italians might have done it this way) but rather sticks to the historical record and leaves a bit of a pensive feel in the air. The uplifting elements of the film are dealt with in a very austere fashion, almost dourly, and you get the feeling that writer/director Natja Brunckhorst, once the young star of cult film Christiane F, sees this era with a kind of melancholy.

Two to One is showing at the HSBC German Film Festival from 30th April to 28th May around Australia (check local guides for exact screening dates). In Perth, it's at the Palace and Luna cinemas.

See also:

The 'fair redistribution of wealth' is reminiscent of Heroic Losers (2019), directed by Sebastián Borensztein, and Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck's excellent The Lives of Others (2006) shows some 1980s East German skullduggery.

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