The arthouse streaming service MUBI is showing the Darling Berlin film “Second Thoughts (German title: “Ich Ich Ich”) as part of the film series “Will They? Won’t They?”.
Director Zora Rux’s feature film debut, starring Elisa Plüss and Thomas Fränzel, premiered on September 25, 2021 at the Zurich Film Festival and screened in the feature film competition of the 2022 Max Ophüls Prize Film Festival. The film was released in Germany on December 1, 2022 on the UCM.ONE label Darling Berlin.
“Second Thoughts” has been available on MUBI since February 1, 2025 as part of the Valentine’s Day special.
Summary
Marie (Elisa Plüss) is caught off guard by her boyfriend Julian (Thomas Fränzel), who proposes to her in front of his family at his brother’s wedding. Marie has no idea how to react. She escapes to the countryside to think about herself, her life and her relationship. Alone?
At her mother’s vacation home, things soon become increasingly cramped and absurd: Marie’s thoughts suddenly take shape, her thought people become more and more numerous and intrusive. They force possible baby names on her, an ex-boyfriend climbs down from trees and a “lyrical ego” in a sari announces Marie’s inner world in verses. Finally, her would-be fiancé comes to the deceptive solitude of the Uckermark in the flesh, bringing a whole busload of his own thoughts with him…
Comments on the movie
“In her feature film debut, Zora Rux shows a world so externally determined that it seems to belong to everyone else rather than the protagonist’s ‘I’.” (FAZ)
“The search for a we. In her film, Zora Rux takes the viewer into the surreal world of visualized thoughts.” (Schwäbische Zeitung)
“As original as it is brilliantly staged by Zora Rux.” (Tagesspiegel)
“Director Zora Rux finds convincing, surprising and overwhelming moments in her feature film debut Ich Ich Ich.Incredible images, psychologically precise and playfully light. It’s funny and profound and exciting throughout.” (Kino-Zeit)
“This imaginative feature film debut is in the tradition of the Swedish surrealist Roy Andersson. With poetic images, the film explores the search for one’s own path in life through the introspection of the main characters.” (Filmdienst)
More Information about the movie: Second Thoughts
More information about the label: Darling Berlin
