Bis ans Ende der Nacht

Robert wears a leather jacket and his hair rather long. He is by no means your average cop – at least not the kind to be found in most German movies. As an undercover investigator, he is tasked with gaining the trust of a criminal, Victor, by faking a relationship with Leni who has been released on parole to play along. They manage to make contact with Victor at a dance class: Robert and Leni – he gay, she trans – make a great couple and soon have the criminal on the hook. Or is it he who has entrapped them? And ultimately, are there not more feelings at play in this supposedly fake love affair? We would not be in a film by Christoph Hochhäusler if there were any simple answers or truths. His clever plot is pure oscillation, and the result is an ingenious portrait of the emotional intellect that is as witty as it is touching. The film is a (not entirely drug-free) trip along the director’s trademark Möbius strip of genre and auteur cinema. Added into the mix is one of the most beautifully nostalgic soundtracks of the year, a worse-for-wear romantic atmosphere with a Fassbinder-like charm and, finally, an ensemble cast that breathes life into all of puppet master Hochhäusler’s deceptive manoeuvres, death wish included.