It’s never a good sign when a film sits on the shelf for three years before dribbling out with little fanfare. The pandemic probably played its part – lord knows it’s disrupted enough in movieland – but it’s just as likely the delay was due to lack of confidence in the product rather than lack of opportunity: The Affair, based on Simon Mawer’s Booker-nominated bestseller, The Glass Room, is maddeningly boring; constantly neutering its greatest assets.
On paper this should have been a sure thing: an awards-baiting epic with a story stretching from the 1920s to the 1960s, precision-tooled for Thanking The Academy. Our heroes look on from their architecturally marvelous – and highly symbolic – home as first the Nazis, and then the Soviet Union marches in, bringing intolerance and devastation with them. Jewish newlyweds Liesal and Viktor must choose between flight and persecution as the German forces arrive.
On paper this should have been a sure thing: an awards-baiting epic with a story stretching from the 1920s to the 1960s, precision-tooled for Thanking The Academy. Our heroes look on from their architecturally marvelous – and highly symbolic – home as first the Nazis, and then the Soviet Union marches in, bringing intolerance and devastation with them. Jewish newlyweds Liesal and Viktor must choose between flight and persecution as the German forces arrive.
- 3/9/2021
- by Marc Burrows
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
In 1928, Fritz Tugendhat and his new wife Grete — both German-born Jews — commissioned architects Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Lilly Reich to build them a glass house on a hilltop in the city of Brno, Czechoslovakia. The Villa Tugendhat was to be a new home for a new Europe: sleek, spare, and open to the light of the outside world. Its functionalist principles expressed the hope for a future without secrets or self-denial, and its long glass walls reflected the freedoms that Grete expected to define the rest of the 20th century. Less than 10 years later, the Tugendhats were forced to flee in the looming shadow of a Fascist occupation. Czechoslovakia became the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, and the Villa Tugendhat was turned into the local offices of the Messerschmitt corporation, which engineered much of Hitler’s air force.
Adapted from Simon Mawer’s bestselling 2009 novel “The Glass Room...
Adapted from Simon Mawer’s bestselling 2009 novel “The Glass Room...
- 3/5/2021
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
Simon Mawer’s 2009 historical novel “The Glass Room” was well-regarded on both sides of the Atlantic, shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize, and seemingly destined to be filmed sooner rather than later. It was, after all, a decades-spanning saga of illicit desire, betrayal and riches-to-rags survival against the shifting backdrop of the Holocaust and the rise of Communism in the former Czechoslovakia. You wouldn’t guess its lofty origins from watching its eventual adaptation as “The Affair,” and not just because Mawer’s tale is now hidden behind the most generic title imaginable — as if placed in witness protection, to prevent any parties interested in its former identity from finding it. Despite a fine Continental cast and gleaming production values, Czech helmer Julius Ševčík has made a muddled, maudlin hash of what ought to have been a sure thing; limping to a U.S. release two years after its European premiere,...
- 3/5/2021
- by Guy Lodge
- Variety Film + TV
Based on the novel ‘The Glass Room’, The Affair is romantic wartime drama set in Czechoslovakia, with an impressive European cast. The leading members of which, are Dutch actress Carice van Houten, as well as Swede Hanna Alström and Danish performer Claes Bang. We had the pleasure of interviewing all three via Zoom.
With the latter we discussed his female counterparts, and the joy in acting alongside such talented individuals, while he also tells us that he finds it easier to get into character when placed in a period setting. The actresses follow up on this point, while also talking about the strength of European cinema and commenting on the pertinent issues within this film, with struggles that women around the world are still facing today. Though our favourite aspect, truly, was bringing the two friends back together, as it seems this interview was the first time they’d seen each other in a while.
With the latter we discussed his female counterparts, and the joy in acting alongside such talented individuals, while he also tells us that he finds it easier to get into character when placed in a period setting. The actresses follow up on this point, while also talking about the strength of European cinema and commenting on the pertinent issues within this film, with struggles that women around the world are still facing today. Though our favourite aspect, truly, was bringing the two friends back together, as it seems this interview was the first time they’d seen each other in a while.
- 3/4/2021
- by Stefan Pape
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
A real-life architectural gem is the centerpiece of The Affair — and, in many ways, its most compelling character. The building is a modernist masterpiece, completed in 1930, when the term “modernist” embodied the thrill of risk-taking in a new age.
As in the movie’s source material, Simon Mawer’s 2009 novel The Glass Room, the house is a hilltop construction of clean geometric lines, designed to hold light, and its changes in ownership over the years map out the tumultuous history of 20th century Czechoslovakia. Abstract concepts and aesthetic ideals kick-start the handsome yet muddled feature, but, as ...
As in the movie’s source material, Simon Mawer’s 2009 novel The Glass Room, the house is a hilltop construction of clean geometric lines, designed to hold light, and its changes in ownership over the years map out the tumultuous history of 20th century Czechoslovakia. Abstract concepts and aesthetic ideals kick-start the handsome yet muddled feature, but, as ...
A real-life architectural gem is the centerpiece of The Affair — and, in many ways, its most compelling character. The building is a modernist masterpiece, completed in 1930, when the term “modernist” embodied the thrill of risk-taking in a new age.
As in the movie’s source material, Simon Mawer’s 2009 novel The Glass Room, the house is a hilltop construction of clean geometric lines, designed to hold light, and its changes in ownership over the years map out the tumultuous history of 20th century Czechoslovakia. Abstract concepts and aesthetic ideals kick-start the handsome yet muddled feature, but, as ...
As in the movie’s source material, Simon Mawer’s 2009 novel The Glass Room, the house is a hilltop construction of clean geometric lines, designed to hold light, and its changes in ownership over the years map out the tumultuous history of 20th century Czechoslovakia. Abstract concepts and aesthetic ideals kick-start the handsome yet muddled feature, but, as ...
It’s not a hot take to say that times were tough for certain groups of people in the 1930s, especially in Europe. And in the new film, “The Affair,” we see how the state of the world during that time leads to an illicit love that threatens to destroy peoples’ lives.
Read More: ‘Night Of The Kings’ Trailer: Philippe Lacôte’s Festival Standout Arrives In Theaters In February
As seen in the trailer for “The Affair,” the story focuses on the friendship between two women in 1930s Czechoslovakia.
Continue reading ‘The Affair’ Trailer: Claes Bang & Clarice Van Houten Star In This Drama About Illicit Love In The 1930s at The Playlist.
Read More: ‘Night Of The Kings’ Trailer: Philippe Lacôte’s Festival Standout Arrives In Theaters In February
As seen in the trailer for “The Affair,” the story focuses on the friendship between two women in 1930s Czechoslovakia.
Continue reading ‘The Affair’ Trailer: Claes Bang & Clarice Van Houten Star In This Drama About Illicit Love In The 1930s at The Playlist.
- 2/4/2021
- by Charles Barfield
- The Playlist
"He doesn't deserve you..." "I know." Vertical Entertainment has released an official US trailer for an indie drama from Czechia titled The Affair. The film's original release title is The Glass Room, and it first opened in theaters in Czechia in 2019, but it's only now getting an official US release. Set in the 1930s in Czechoslovakia before WWII, the film is indeed about an "affair". Liesel Landauer and her friend Hana are linked by a lifelong relationship and an exceptional house built by the architect Von Abt for Liesel and her husband Bikto. The film's stunning cast features Hanna Alström, Claes Bang, Carice van Houten, and Alexandra Borbély. It looks like a dark, mysterious noir suspense thriller more than a romance, but the fiery passion is definitely in there, too. It seems like the performances are good, not sure about the rest of it. Here's the official US trailer (+ two...
- 2/4/2021
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Titles include ‘Cagefighter: Worlds Collide’ and ‘The Mongolian Connection’.
US sales and distribution company Princ Films has closed a raft of deals on four features, which it introduced to buyers at the virtual Cannes market in June.
The sales are led by Mma action feature Cagefighter: Worlds Collide, written and directed by Jesse Quinones and starring Gina Gershon and former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Chuck Liddell.
The film has sold to the US and Canada (Screen Media), France (Ily Films Unlimited), German-speaking Europe (Ascot Elite), New Zealand (Sky TV), Benelux (Three Lines Pictures), Cis and Baltics (Volgafilm) and Southeast Asia...
US sales and distribution company Princ Films has closed a raft of deals on four features, which it introduced to buyers at the virtual Cannes market in June.
The sales are led by Mma action feature Cagefighter: Worlds Collide, written and directed by Jesse Quinones and starring Gina Gershon and former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Chuck Liddell.
The film has sold to the US and Canada (Screen Media), France (Ily Films Unlimited), German-speaking Europe (Ascot Elite), New Zealand (Sky TV), Benelux (Three Lines Pictures), Cis and Baltics (Volgafilm) and Southeast Asia...
- 8/7/2020
- by 1100453¦Michael Rosser¦9¦
- ScreenDaily
Czech-Shot “The Glass Room,” currently in post-production, is deeply influenced by an aspect of the nation’s history not often spoken about by admirers — its remarkable architecture: For generations, the most treasured buildings were home to tragic events.
The Villa Tugendhat in the eastern province of Moravia, a stunning, poured-concrete dwelling that represents a breakthrough in the functionalist movement of the 1920s, is a prime example: It saw its German Jewish owners, Fritz and Grete Tugendhat, forced to flee the country in the 1930s, just ahead of the Nazi occupation. “This house can be really cold,” says director Julius Sevcik. “And awful. Especially in the winter with all the dead-looking trees.” This unconventional assessment of one of the Czech Republic’s prize modernist gems is a good fit for its unfortunate story. Commissioned by the Tugendhats in 1928, the villa was empty by 1938, when the duo escaped to Switzerland.
After being...
The Villa Tugendhat in the eastern province of Moravia, a stunning, poured-concrete dwelling that represents a breakthrough in the functionalist movement of the 1920s, is a prime example: It saw its German Jewish owners, Fritz and Grete Tugendhat, forced to flee the country in the 1930s, just ahead of the Nazi occupation. “This house can be really cold,” says director Julius Sevcik. “And awful. Especially in the winter with all the dead-looking trees.” This unconventional assessment of one of the Czech Republic’s prize modernist gems is a good fit for its unfortunate story. Commissioned by the Tugendhats in 1928, the villa was empty by 1938, when the duo escaped to Switzerland.
After being...
- 10/18/2018
- by Will Tizard
- Variety Film + TV
“Game of Thrones” star Carice van Houten will star in “Locus of Control,” playing a prison psychologist who starts an affair with a serial sex offender who appears to be ready to be released back into society.
The latter role will be played by Marwan Kenzari, the Dutch actor who plays Jafar in Guy Ritchie’s upcoming “Aladdin” movie and who has starred in films including “The Mummy” and “Wolf.”
Dutch actress Halina Reijn will helm the picture, her directorial debut. She worked with van Houten on the Paul Verhoeven movie “Black Book,” and Bryan Singer’s “Valkyrie.” “Locus of Control” will be the first outing for the pair’s production banner, Man Up.
Van Houten is best-known as Lady Melisandre, the Red Priestess, in HBO juggernaut “Game of Thrones.” Shooting on “Locus of Control” is underway and will run through the end of the month. Van Houten is making...
The latter role will be played by Marwan Kenzari, the Dutch actor who plays Jafar in Guy Ritchie’s upcoming “Aladdin” movie and who has starred in films including “The Mummy” and “Wolf.”
Dutch actress Halina Reijn will helm the picture, her directorial debut. She worked with van Houten on the Paul Verhoeven movie “Black Book,” and Bryan Singer’s “Valkyrie.” “Locus of Control” will be the first outing for the pair’s production banner, Man Up.
Van Houten is best-known as Lady Melisandre, the Red Priestess, in HBO juggernaut “Game of Thrones.” Shooting on “Locus of Control” is underway and will run through the end of the month. Van Houten is making...
- 5/8/2018
- by Stewart Clarke
- Variety Film + TV
Joseph Baxter Apr 5, 2019
Brian De Palma action thriller Domino will see Game of Thrones stars Nikolaj Coster-Waldau and Carice Van Houten opposite one another.
Legendary director Brian De Palma, who amongst other iconic efforts, directed the 1996 inaugural film in the lucrative-as-ever Mission: Impossible film franchise, returns to the action thriller table with Domino. The film is headlined by a duo Game of Thrones cast members whose characters we can't wait to see share the screen on the series before its imminent end, namely the Kingslayer himself, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, and the Red Witch herself, Carice Van Houten.
De Palma’s directorial offering Domino – not to be confused with the late Tony Scott’s 2005 Keira Knightley-starring bounty hunter biopic – is being distributed in the U.S. by Saban Films.
Domino Trailer
Video of Domino Official Trailer (2019) - Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Guy Pearce
The trailer for Domino showcases what appears to be a cat-and-mouse suspense thriller.
Brian De Palma action thriller Domino will see Game of Thrones stars Nikolaj Coster-Waldau and Carice Van Houten opposite one another.
Legendary director Brian De Palma, who amongst other iconic efforts, directed the 1996 inaugural film in the lucrative-as-ever Mission: Impossible film franchise, returns to the action thriller table with Domino. The film is headlined by a duo Game of Thrones cast members whose characters we can't wait to see share the screen on the series before its imminent end, namely the Kingslayer himself, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, and the Red Witch herself, Carice Van Houten.
De Palma’s directorial offering Domino – not to be confused with the late Tony Scott’s 2005 Keira Knightley-starring bounty hunter biopic – is being distributed in the U.S. by Saban Films.
Domino Trailer
Video of Domino Official Trailer (2019) - Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Guy Pearce
The trailer for Domino showcases what appears to be a cat-and-mouse suspense thriller.
- 5/4/2017
- Den of Geek
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.