Until the Edge of the World (2019)

Not understanding why her father lies unconscious in a hospital, a little girl’s vivid imagination places him on a journey to the moon.

Daniel Bertram’s writing (but also directing), Serhii Reznik and Billy Ray Schlag’s ambient music, Alicia Valencia Pollex’s acting, and Knut Adass’ dark cinematography promise a tear-jerker – a drama that cannot end well.

The restricted narrative, though, adds a mystery to it. The audience knows as much as Flo does or as much as she understands, if you may. It approaches the tragedy from everyone’s perspective, including Flo’s, the mother’s, and the father’s perspectives, and the restricted narrative affects them, too, as no one knows each other’s thoughts or true feelings. In the case of Flo and her mother, they are even unable to understand each other. Interestingly, only the audience can experience the father’s inner world, turning us into omniscient viewers.

It definitely follows an unconventional way of telling the story, but don’t cast any stones yet. How do you experience tragedy? And how would you prepare a little kid for it? At the end of the day, is anyone really ever prepared? From an artistic point of view, scenes such as the non-boiling milk, the rain during a starry night, the reflections, the mixture of colours turning into clouds, and the animated painting spark our imagination, significantly reducing the situation’s cynical or orthological approach. For example, I’ve never thought of the moon, the Earth’s satellite, in such a poetic or existential way.

I very much recommend it to whoever is looking for nontraditional/unconventional storytelling. Until the Edge of the World is quite depressing, though, and may not suit people who struggle in these difficult times.

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Solidarity for all the innocent lives who suffer the atrocities of war!

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