Thomas Stuber’s “In The Aisles” depicts a semi-fantastic narrative and manages to inspire hope while capturing the beauty of the dull and almost frighteningly linear supermarket corridors of a German wholesale store. But never mind where this delicate love story is set virtually anywhere in Europe, or even some Costco here in The States will do just fine. But that is all a part of Stuber’s Mandevillian intentions that he breathes into existence with child-like nonchalance. Stuber’s film makes the audience feel as if they know the working-class individuals in the narrative, and that they themselves have mingled with the enormous towers of food and drink containers that the film’s characters are responsible for. What we did not know or have not necessarily felt in the past, however, was the degree of gentleness that permeates the familiar shelves. As much as human souls, the iridescent robots are indeed made to be forlorn; these creatures do not have eyes, and their limbs are nothing more than colored outlines with hands devoid of fingers. Stuber’s film captures the heartless reality of existence. These colorless surroundings possess an immense soul-sucking fauna- to the point where the gigantic yet sparse aisles can at times, evoke the feeling of an empty zombie apocalypse. Nevertheless, although Mr. Stuber’s film accepts the existence of the humanity within his cherished characters, it is so deeply drowned beneath the surface that it is simply impossible to ignore.
The role of the introverted Christian is reserved, observant calm, as performed by Franz Rogowski of “Transit.” Once in a while, you wish he was somewhat more engaged or chatty, just for a second to liven up the film’s pace. And yet Christian emerges a little socially reserved, a tad socially clumsy. He is starting his new job with a rather caring supervisor called Rudi (Andreas Leupold). In the beginning, Christian will be working the night shift at the Beverage Department, while being watched over by the kindly and experienced staffer, Bruno (Peter Kurth). At the very beginning, we see how patiently Bruno tries to instruct Christian on how to operate a forklift. Alright, I know it is not a backhoe, but really, a forklift is just a type of motorized vehicle that is used in warehouses and is designed to lift and shift heavy loads. However, with Stuber it is not a question of brute realism; he tries to find poetic rhythms at everything, which can be described as having made a dance with cinematography that imitates a romantic ballet accompanied by Strauss’ “The Blue Danube Waltz.”
Now, we are still yet to begin on the mentioned romance tale, where we observe Christian develop a naive liking towards his co-worker Marion, who is quite lovely. Sandra Huller, who plays the role of Marion, is not at all like the stern woman she convincingly played in Toni Erdmann. She lightly flirts with Christian but does not take things too far considering she is married and has her own personal issues to deal with. Stuber is able to expand a vast world within a singular vision which is small, suffocating, and unsettling. He floated a Christmas party with the employees’ after work beer sessions, along with a few mundane matters during insane work hours, and we are grateful for these scenes that enhance the sense of a close-knit community while shinning a light on the individual’s loneliness.
No one is problem free which is why things appear to be overly optimistic, and it isn’t because the world is cloaked in dust pink. Thankfully and simultaneously, it is why the hope feels slightly misplaced. Everyone is simply trying to get to the next day, and there’s nothing wrong with doing so. Some aren’t so fortunate and have more than just a few problems to deal with.
In the quiet of the tale, there lies an intricately woven tragedy of why the character ‘ Christian’s ‘ life is in disarray, alongside Marion who vanished from the shift for a bit. All these are hints of a much darker voyage carved deep within. On the brighter side of life, the workers carve some sanity into this perpetual madness by indulging in expired snacks disguised as waste, revealing the camaraderie between the employees. But it does brings us the question, ‘What really happens during the smoke breaks?’. And with that, the sips of light begin to pour through the veil of darkness, hinting at a positive conclusion.
The physical depiction of a ‘normal slow day at work’ paired with the sentiment of there not really being much else to delve into gives the watchers a coveting allure. There is a beauty of sorts within a normal mundane world, both Matjasko and I under the gaze of a divine, all powerful Um feeling it escaping onto the world. To be able to stare down without being drenched into the unyielding chaos drowning us is a world Minneapolis is desperately chasing after.
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