21
Jun/19

ENDZEIT (EVER AFTER)

21
Jun/19
Endzeit

Vivi (Gro Swantje Kohlhof) and Eva (Maja Lehrer) hide from hungry zombies in Endzeit

ENDZEIT (EVER AFTER) (Carolina Hellsgård, 2018)
IFC Center
323 Sixth Ave. at West Third St.
Opens Friday, June 21
212-924-7771
www.ifccenter.com
endzeiteverafter.com

Swedish-born, Berlin-based Carolina Hellsgård follows her 2015 debut, Wanja, with EndzeitEver After, a gripping feminist gothic zombie movie. In a postapocalyptic world, flesh-eating zombies wander hungrily through the land, looking for living souls to consume. Twenty-two-year-old Vivi (Gro Swantje Kohlhof), haunted by the memory of leaving behind her beloved younger sister, Renata (Amy Schuk), and determined to find her, arrives at a fenced-in outpost that is one of only two places where humans have survived. It is run by the warden (Barbara Philipp), who keeps a tight grip on the rules to keep everyone alive. After a zombie attacks, the meek Vivi is soon on the run with tough-as-nails twenty-six-year-old Eva (Maja Lehrer) as they attempt to make it through the Black Forest to the town of Jena. But without much food and water and with zombies liable to jump out at them at any moment, safety is a long way away.

Endzeit

Eva (Maja Lehrer) faces a gardener (Trine Dyrholm) as Vivi (Gro Swantje Kohlhof) looks on in Endzeit

Endzeit is a dystopian tale by and about women: The screenplay was written by Olivia Vieweg, based on her graphic novel; Leah Striker’s cinematography is lush and beautiful; Julia Oehring and Ruth Schönegge serve as editors; Jenny Roesler did the sets; Teresa Grosser designed the costumes, highlighted by a white wedding dress; Franziska Henke composed the eerie score; and the film was produced by Claudia Schröter and executive produced by Ingelore König. Men are inconsequential in this hellish future, where Mother Nature is in charge. There might be a lot of blood and gore and fear, but the land is in full bloom, with gorgeous green fields, healthy, flourishing plants and trees, and warm sunshine. At one point Vivi encounters a gardener (Trine Dyrholm) who appears to be part of the earth itself. Hellsgård and Vieweg have created a different kind of zombie flick, where the protagonists face their individual guilt as they search for freedom in a dangerous landscape bursting with life. It also demonstrates the failure of fences to do only one job — keeping others out. Endzeit opens June 21 at IFC, with Hellsgård participating in Q&As following the 7:45 shows on June 21 and 22.