O Beautiful Night

Juri is being followed by a black raven which causes the young hypochondriac’s heart to race. The bird drives him into the clutches of a mysterious man who speaks with an eastern European accent and claims to be Death himself. For Juri, a nocturnal odyssey begins which takes him through labyrinths of go-kart tracks, opium dens and chandeliers. He meets the fascinating Nina, who works in a peep show and who becomes a passenger of Death on Juri’s hellishly somnambulistic trip in a ‘muscle car’.

This wild and furious feature film debut by Berlin director and illustrator Xaver Böhm is a humorous, dreamlike visual journey. Bright ‘vanitas’-like images merge into deserted streets and opulently furnished retro-romantic rooms. People acting in a decidedly erratic manner throw the passive hero ever deeper into confusion. Accompanied by a soundtrack that is all night and neon light, Juri has to find out who he is, what he wants and who on earth his companions are.

Source: 69. Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin (Catalogue)