When you see Jaschar Marktanner"s PERHAPS BETTER THAT WAY you absolutely must stay to the very end. It's about 12 minutes so it's not a huge ask, but you have to get to the end for the film to fully hit you and blossom in your heart.
The film begins with two friends talking in a cafe, one is a woman whi is killing a plant a boyfriend gave her. The other is a photographer who has no desire to take pictures. Later that night when she is home the friends text and the photographer goes out "to take pictures" but finds nothing...until she meets a man with a stick.
Marktanner is becoming a hell of a director. Following up his TURING TEST, another film that clicks in the final moments, he has shown that he is the absolute master of story construction. Where with most films you know minutes in where it's going, Marktanner's films are unexpected, his films don't reveal the destination until you arrive at them.
Here in PERHAPS... we have two scenes between friends that seem off. We wonder where they are going because they are slightly awkward. What we don't realize right away is that the scenes perfectly mirror the photographers state of mind. She doesn't feel right or connected. She like us is just going through the motions being pushed by circumstance, wondering why and how. It is not until she meets the man that things click. What seemed off was just part of a journey.
The best thing about Marktanner's film is that while you may think I've told you everything, the truth is I have told you nothing. There is a great deal that happens and you won't know what any of it is until the filma fade out. Trust me.
I will be very curious what Marktanner does with a feature, however until then I will happily take his wonderful shorts that leave me delighted with unexpected stories.
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