My end. Your beginning - DVD

Film: Do you believe in love at first sight? For Nora (Saskia Rosendahl) and Aron (Julius Feldmeier) it is clear: It exists. Because the two have experienced it themselves when they meet one day in the subway. For Nora it's a beautiful coincidence, for Aron it's clearly predestination. But in any case it is wonderful. The two experience a brief period of absolute happiness together. Then Aron is killed. And Nora's life is shattered. How can she go on without the love of her life? She walks through the world in a daze and only Natan (Edin Hasanović), whom she meets again and again by chance, manages to free her from this trance. He gives her support and also hope. Hope that everything will be alright again. But she has no idea of the tragic secret that really connects her to Natan.

My End. Your Beginning, the directorial debut of Mariko Minoguchi, tells what is actually a very conventional story about coincidence and fate, but one that is given a special charm by a convoluted narrative. However, a lot more could have been taken out of it - especially on an emotional level. Here, the young filmmaker tries too hard to avoid any form of Hollywood kitsch, which ultimately leads to the fact that the production seems too undercooled at important points. This doesn't only result in some small lengths. It is also made difficult for the viewer to fully engage with the story and its characters on an emotional level.

This brings a dramaturgical weakness more to the fore. Because despite the narrative set on different time levels, it is probably clear to everyone quite quickly what secret Natan is carrying around, which wouldn't be a big deal if you were otherwise fully caught up in the story. But long, sad glances or moments of quiet tragedy just aren't enough to bring out the full potential here.

The actors are terrific, the imagery engaging, the editing excellent, and the music very atmospheric. Thus, My End. Your Beginning really works very well on many levels. But unfortunately it's also true here: Just missed is also missed. Therefore, there is the deserved worth seeing only with some restrictions.

Picture + Sound: Coloring and contrast tuning of the DVD capture the atmospheric images of the film very well. Overall image sharpness is at a good level, with only minor detail flaws in darker scenes. The audio is available as a Dolby Digital 5.1 mix, which clearly puts the dialogue and music in the foreground. Every now and then, ambient noise and minor sound effects provide audible use of the surround channels. Good!

Extras: As a bonus, the DVD has a roughly 11-minute making of on offer, consisting primarily of interviews with the director and cast.

Conclusion: My End. Your Beginning tells a dramatic love story on several intertwined plot levels, carried by strong actors and engaging imagery. A few lengths and a somewhat undercool narrative style weaken the otherwise very positive overall impression a little. The DVD presents the film in coherent picture and sound quality, as an extra there is a short making of. All in all, this DVD gets a decent: recommendable!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp