Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

Afire Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov February 22, 2024

Christian Petzold's "Afire" (2923) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Jahus Films/Criterion. The supplemental features on the release include recent program with the director and an original trailer. In German, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

A short prologue revealing what brings Leon (Thomas Schubert) and Felix (Langston Ulbel) together and why they have remained good friends would have been appreciated. But one does not exist, and for a very particular reason, too. It would have made the rest of Christian Petzold’s new film, Afire, utterly unbelievable.

Instead, Petzold introduces Leon and Felix on the road, as they are heading toward a vacation home somewhere on the Baltic Sea. When their car breaks down in the forest, they pull out their bags and decide to walk the rest of the way, without a map or any idea how to navigate the area. Shortly after, the visibly annoyed Leon is told to pick a good resting place while Felix figures out how to reach the vacation home. It is the first time Petzold suggests that Leon could be a very difficult person to communicate with and endure.

At the vacation home, Leon and Felix discover a note informing them that they will have to share rooms with Nadja (Paula Beer), who is already there. Leon becomes annoyed again and then panics because he concludes that Nadja’s presence would interfere with his plan to finish his book, which his publisher (Matthias Brandt) expects to see in a couple of days when he arrives in the area, too. Despite Felix’s assurance that it will all work out, on the next day, after meeting Nadja and her friend, a lifeguard named Devid (Enno Trebs), Leon becomes openly hostile.

It is here that Petzold gradually begins expanding Afire in several new directions while simultaneously revealing a different side of each character, starting with Leon again and finishing with Nadja. In the process, Petzold also introduces romance that creates two couples whose interactions further expand Afire.

Petzold has directed several terrific films whose main strength is their ability to establish an intimate relationship between their characters and audience. They tell wonderful, thought-provoking stories too, so the dilemmas these characters are presented with are always easy to relate to and feel very authentic. (This writer’s favorite Petzold film is Barbara in which a young doctor living in the defunct East Germany sees her life turned upside down after she applies for a permit to visit West Germany where the man she is in love with lives). Needless to say, usually these films are not easy to forget.

Afire promises to be that kind of film but ends up being a misfire. It is a strange misfire too because it is a nicely acted and shot film that does virtually all of the things one would expect a Petzold film to do. So, the obvious question is: why isn’t Afire like the rest of Petzold’s terrific films?

If its story was a character as well, it would be very easy to describe it as too introverted. Indeed, it does not go deep into the psyche of Leon, Nadja, Felix, and Devid and share his findings with the audience, and instead chooses to spend more time observing their relationships for what feels like personal reasons. As a result, the frustrations and joys Leon, Nadja, Felix, and Devid experience remain oddly unengaging.

The other problem with Afire is that it misses a great opportunity to reset itself and place Leon, Nadja, Felix, and Devid into a bigger story about the brittle nature of existence in a contemporary world that has forgotten about it. In the final act, where a giant fire approaches the area where the vacation home is, for a short period of time it looks like Afire is preparing for such a reset, but the bigger story does not materialize. Instead, the giant fire is used only to further emphasize the obvious, which is that everyone has been living in the moment and suffering the consequences that come with such a decision.

Afire Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Afire arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Janus Films/Criterion.

Afire looks terrific in high-definition. While viewing it on my system yesterday, I did not see anything that could have been managed better so that the visuals are even more impressive. Indeed, delineation, clarity, and depth were outstanding, while colors looked very rich yet natural. Image stability was excellent as well. Obviously, it does help a lot that this is a very recent film shot with excellent contemporary equipment, but I still think that the technical presentation of it is rather remarkable. I did not encounter any encoding anomalies to report in our review. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Afire Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: German DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature.

All memorable dynamic contrasts feature natural sounds and noises, so instead of great strength or/and oomph, you should expect to hear great nuances. A lovely song -- Wallners' single In My Mind -- adds some additional flavor as well. The dialog is always very clear, clean, and easy to follow. The English translation is excellent. Also, I liked a lot the size of the subtitles.

Afire Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Meet the Filmmakers - in this recent program, Christian Petzold explains how the original concept for Afire evolved and discusses the themes he wanted to define it. In English, not subtitled. (16 min).

• Trailer - presented here is an original trailer for Afire. In German, with English subtitles. (3 min).

• Leaflet - an illustrated leaflet featuring critic Michael Joshua Rowin's essay "Afire: Writer's Retreat".

Afire Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Christian Petzold's explanation of what he wanted to convey with Afire is a lot more intriguing than the film he directed, which is strange because he connects interesting ideas and delivers thought-provoking messages very well. Afire does some good work to prepare for an intriguing message about a contemporary world that appears to have forgotten how brittle the nature of existence is and then mishandles it while focusing on a series of cliches about pursuing success and happiness. To be honest, I would have loved to see the canceled film Petzold wanted to do while reflecting on what took place during the Covid lockdowns, so hopefully he will come back to it and get it done.