Auf der Suche

Looking for Simon

Valerie has not been able to get hold of her son who is a doctor in Marseille for some time now. She goes to the French port city and finds an abandoned apartment. She asks Simon’s ex-lover Jens to come too so he can support her quest in the strange city.

Why does somebody disappear without a trace? How can somebody one thought one knew so well suddenly become so unknown? And who is Simon really? As it unfolds, Jan Krüger’s film develops into an unconventional psycho-thriller. Each lead that Valerie and Jens pursue comes to nothing. Despite booking a trip, Simon did not go to Morocco; neither of them can explain why he might have bought an expensive yellow sports car. Together they watch vacation videos and other films they find in the apartment. And they come across two people – Simon’s colleague Camille and the mysterious car dealer Jalil – who both evidently had a special relationship with the disappeared Simon. Valerie and Jens begin to question their own relationship with him and consequently themselves. All the participants are thrown off course by the search. And with its particular atmosphere, the French port city plays a very singular role.

Source: 61. Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin (Catalogue)