A la vuelta de la esquina

The title In the Aisles is somewhat misleading. I think that the love between a man and a woman comes second in this amazing film. Primarily, it deals with interpersonal relationships in a warehouse, which represents for its employees a small world without a sky, pulsating with its own inner life. The story has plenty of romance, and it is playful and poetic, but at the same time very sad. The strong emotions that gush out of it are underlined by the extremely infectious music. The fresh central trio of Franz Rogowski, Sandra Hüller, and Peter Kurth exude such wonderfully authentic vibes that I immediately fell in love with them and intensely experienced all the joys and sorrows with them. (90%) (09.11.2020)

Since In the Aisles lacks a significant story arc and is entirely made up of more or less interconnected episodes that try to engage with a kind of poetry of the mundane, it is actually very accommodating to the viewer, who can decide for himself how to perceive the film. In fact, none of the themes hinted at overwhelms any other, and the film has no negative character. From a choice between watching a warehouse worker's microcosm in a generic lonely store, an overlapping perception of uprooted older men swept away by late capitalism, or observing a probe into the grey reality of the world beyond the confines of the highway, I choose the latter. The landscape of hideous suburban houses by the expressways among grey fields, parking lots, and logistics warehouses here (in addition to the fact that the film is set in the autumn/winter period) really feels like the last milestone of all involved, from which there is no escape except to the world of the films of Ulrich Siedl or Béla Tarr. (14.05.2019)

In the Aisles offers a minimalist and slowly told story from an unnamed warehouse, which is depicted as a world in itself, with different areas, different characters and an "omnipresent ocean". And it is in this microcosm that the taciturn Christian and the plain-spoken Marion meet one another; two opposites that, according to the laws of physics, automatically attract. I was intrigued by the depiction of the daily routine at work, where people who are essentially a big family meet every day. While it's not exactly a film overloaded with dialogue, I was still both moved and amused by many scenes completely without words. As a result, the film is between four and three stars for me, but I'll give it a boost in the rating for its likeable cast and a nicely delivered and somewhat original story. It is a film whose charm lies in its believable performances and its portrayal of a stereotypical everyday life, but one in which you can also fall in love. (24.02.2019)