Toni Erdmann: even thought Maren Ade’s dramedy deals with a relationship, or lack thereof, between two characters, there is an imbalance here: while one of them is deeply sympathetic and interesting, the other one is hard to empathize with. The result is, as the film moves its focus from one to the other, the emotional engagement goes up and down as well. The comedy is, likewise, uneven and (purposely) uncomfortable; the situation is funnier than the way it unfurls. None of that is fault of the two actors, however; Peter Simonischek creates a wonderful, believable sad-eyed clown; Sandra Hüller is straddled with an unpleasant character, but she does the role quite well.