Rated Especially Worthwhile
Film Evaluation Authority’s (FBW) Jury Statement
»Carlos A. Moreli's second feature film THE BIRTHDAY is in many respects an unusual work, which stands out from the conventional family drama in an absolutely soothing way. At the centre of the film is a father's search for his role in life, which he lost somewhere between a broken family and never-ending work after his separation. The film thus deals with a very contemporary topos, namely the definition of the relationship between father and son in a complex society in which everyone has to fulfil countless obligations and in which everyone tries to find an answer to the question: What in life is really important to me?
What makes Morellis' approach to telling this story so exciting is, among other things, the level of abstraction with which he approaches the subject. Morelli does not tell a conventional story, but rather makes use of some elements of film noir as well as alienation techniques that stem more from a classic (nightmare) dream dramaturgy. With this in mind, for example, the decision to shoot the film in black and white is not only courageous because it is unusual, but also smart and absolutely coherent. Because not only this results in fantastic pictures in low-key style, which especially carry the nightmarish film noir sequence in the middle of the film. Rather, the black and white on the level of meaning supports a certain insecurity towards the narrative level. Not only the father himself, played by Mark Waschke, but also the audience can never be one hundred percent sure whether what is seen is really real or perhaps takes place on an allegorical level. The costume and set, which also cause slight irritations, the wonderful locations in Halle, which now and then feels like the Vienna from THE THIRD MAN, and the father's vintage car, the interior of which is staged as if it had been temporarily removed from the here and now, also fit in with this.
All of these are testimonies to a strong performance as a director and a script that never loses its credibility in the face of its idiosyncratic nature. Waschke plays the father figure with depth and charisma and harmonises well with Anne Ratte-Polle as well as the two child actors. A wonderful counterpoint to the film's heavy noir atmosphere is provided by the extremely lively trumpet jazz, which not only provides relaxation, but also finds a winking counterpart on the audio track to the son's filmic longing: a visit to the elephant enclosure together with his father.«
Deutsche Film- und Medienbewertung (FBW)