In WOOD AND WATER, German director Jonas Bak moves from the tall spires of the Black Forest to the teeming skyscrapers of Hong Kong in his tranquil, deeply moving feature debut. Newly retired from her church job, Anke dreams of spending time with her grown children—including her uncommunicative and elusive son, Max, who has been living for years in Hong Kong, and who is unable to join his mother and sister back in Germany due to the ongoing pro-democracy protests against China. In a daring decision, Anke, though suffering from depression and anxiety, travels to Hong Kong to find Max and perhaps also herself.
In his hushed, wholly original approach to this fish-out-of-water set-up, Bak constructs a gentle, ambiguous fable of becoming, shot on 16mm and featuring a wondrous, naturalistic performance by his own mother, Anke Bak.
WOOD AND WATER opens tomorrow virtually nationwide at New Directors/New Films and plays in our theaters 5/13. Get tickets: newdirectors.org
The Film Comment Podcast: Movie Doubles
Oh you again: critics K. Austin Collins and Mayukh Sen join to discuss some of our favorite doppelgänger films