SILVER

Cultural borders and language barriers meld together in Claire Burger’s third feature, a Franco-German coming-of-age love story. Timid, reticent Fanny from Strasbourg and outspoken, headstrong Lena from Leipzig are pen pals who embark on a language exchange program. An initial hostile encounter soon thaws toward a budding romance and an intensely volatile friendship marked by neurotic fixation and teenage angst. Burger, along with co-writer Léa Mysius (THE FIVE DEVILS, AFI FEST 2022), boldly taps into the complex psyche of contemporary youth marked by political activism and shifting identities, while still opening a channel for intergenerational dialogue through seasoned arthouse darlings Nina Hoss and Chiara Mastroianni’s sharp-witted turns as familial figures. Washed in a palette of cloudy pastels and blues, LANGUE ÉTRANGÈRE explores complicated desires for collective ambition in a Europe that’s on the precipice of transformative change. (Note courtesy AFI FEST.)

Official Selection, 2024 Berlin International Film Festival. DIR/SCR Claire Burger; SCR Léa Mysius; PROD Marie-Ange Luciani. France/Germany/Belgium, 2024, color, 101 min. In French with English subtitles. NOT RATED