Someday We’ll Teach Each Other Everything is a German coming-of-age story set against the backdrop of the reunification of Germany. An adaptation of Daniela Krien’s novel of the same name, we follow Maria (Marlene Burow), a 19 year old living in the countryside of Thuringia in former East Germany. It’s a hot summer in 1990 and one filled with questions of identity, not just for Maria but for all people in modern day Germany. Following the fall of the wall, it feels like a time where anything is possible.
Maria lives with her boyfriend Johannes (Cedric Eich) and his family on their farm. It’s an industrious existence but a pleasant one, and Maria spends much of her time reading books and skipping school. It’s in these books that we sense the kindling of a desire for something more. She’s a barn full of hay and an encounter with neighbour Henner (Felix Kramer) proves to be enough to set her alight. The dilemma is that he’s not just over twice her age, but also that everyone in her new film knows him.
It’s this central dynamic where the film shines. Eich is excellent here and complemented by a strong performance from Kramer. We see their physical and emotional desire stretch across the screen, sometimes gentle, sometimes as if it’s their last act. Among the sleepy countryside, it’s like an explosion.
Intimacy coordinator Sarah Lee clearly an excellent job in coordinating these scenes. In the following press conference, both Burow and Kramer spoke of their comfort on set and praised her work. Kramer went on to say that he felt so comfortable that he could fall asleep.
However, while the film often rightly keeps its focus on this encounter and its consequences, I was left wanting to explore much more of this family. When those two were together, it felt like they were the only two that existed. That’s partly their performances but mainly there was his great vacuum left outside of scenes. When character’s leave the screen, they retreat into this vacuum. Their presence counts for little to nothing in the minds of the other characters, or us watching it.
Similarly, the consequence of this affair are paid lip service but we’re quick to move on. It’s left to Burow to carry this in just a few interactions with Johannes, and one particularly amusing and inventive scene to show this danger.
Maria’s relationship with her mother Hannah (Jördis Triebel) is complex. They live apart with allusions to trouble with a lack of money from being laid off, and an absent father. They’re distant but clearly know they can come back at times of trouble. Sadly, It doesn’t develop much further than this surface established early on. Triebel is excellent as ever but tragically underutilised.
Johannes and his family do succeed in providing the serene setting and a welcome levity. It helps make sense of the central romance and why Maria desires more than Johannes. Henner is a loner, and although Maria is surrounded by a loving new family, she is too. Her books are her refuge but they can only do so much.
There are several amusing scenes that play with the expectations of East Germany and West Germany at the time. A visit from a relative from the West shows that years of separation can be bridged, sometimes slowly, sometimes very quickly. These moments are touching and funny and add some essential depth to the wider social setting of the film.
Ultimately, the backdrop of unification and the new coming of age for a country and a people all at once feels underutilised. At times it can feel like just two people slinking off for nicely shot, well choreographed sex. Strong central performances withstanding, that only gets you so far. It’s the wider context of a fascinating time for a coming-of-age story that could have grounded this film, and made the central story of a woman’s desire all the more powerful.