European-Films.net
Just have a look at the title ?Agnes und seine Br?der? or ?Agnes and his
brothers?. Is there anything that strikes you as odd? Perhaps the fact that the
female name ?Agnes? nevertheless has a masculine possessive pronoun (his)? Or
has this become so acceptable (if that is the right word) that you did not think this
was extraordinary? In the world of the film itself, the fact that Agnes ?after the
operation? is still one of the brothers is not a problem for any of the characters.
This is in no way an indication, however, that Agnes and his two brothers are
leading anything resembling a happy life. ?Agnes und seine Br?der? is not a
comedy, but the dramatic story of a dysfunctional family and how they pass this
on in their respective new relationships.
What is intriguing about the film directed by Oskar Roehler, is that it
stubbornly fixes itself on the problems of today, not on the possible causes of the
problems that lie in the past. Agnes (Martin Wei?) makes his money dancing at a
club, though he has problems with his boyfriend who would like him to be more at
home (unlike Agnes he has a daytime job) and cook for and sleep with him.
Agnes?s big brother Werner (Herbert Knaup) has grown apart from his partner
(Katja Riemann) as well, absorbed as is he by his work for the European
Commission. The younger brother Hans-J?rg (Moritz Bleibtreu) would love to
complain about his relationship troubles and love life, but his problem is that he
does not have one. All he can think about is sex, and his job at a public library
drives him mad during the hot summer days; to him it seems like all the girls wear
next to nothing just to remind him of the fact that he has no success in neither
love nor lust.