By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Claudia Tuyet Scheffel
Starring: Jordis Herrmann | Nano Nguyen | Niklas Wetzel | Tri An Bui | Vy Luu
Original language title: Lonig & Havendel
Year: 2026
Running time: 116
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt35149212/
Michael says: “This one is a bit of a mind-bender. Trúc is a young Vietnamese woman going to college in a tiny town in the remote German mountains. Feeling alienated and alone, she takes a guided tour of a nearby mine and wanders off emerging in a similar town that is similar but different. There she is befriended by Duc, also from Vietnam, whose parents run an Asian snack bar, and is feeling similarly alienated after the woman he has a crush on leaves town. Trúc encounters a mysterious spirit who offers her a deal that as is often the case, is much more of a trap than it appears. Or is it?
“Beautifully shot, and vaguely reminiscent of FILIPINANA somehow, perhaps in its inscrutability. But I really enjoyed it. There’s a lot going on, and I look forward to another viewing. I hope it gets a release in the U.S. 4 cats“