Set in a snowbound Swiss alpine resort, Lenz is the story of a tortured artist attempting to regain the affection of his son, Noah and ex-wife, Natalie. It’s loosely based on the novella written by writer Georg Buchner on eccentric German poet, J. M.R Lenz.

In the film, Lenz is an eccentric film-maker searching for a purer form of expressing his craft. He clambers madly over the alpine landscape to see his son, Noah. Though estranged from his family he remains deeply attached to them and this seems to be the root cause of his ravings.

When reunited briefly with Noah and Natalie, Lenz is euphoric, and the family spends an idyllic holiday together. But the atmosphere of domestic bliss is fraught with underlying tension. Lenz dithers between acting like the caring husband and father and suddenly behaving in the most peculiar fashion. During these episodes he runs semi-naked through the snow and sleeps outside in an igloo!

Essentially this film deals with the fine line between artistic genius and sheer madness. Lenz’s longing to be reunited with his family and his inability to bridge this gap is at times heart wrenching to watch. The film constantly zooms out from the intense portrayal of Lenz’s agony to in a kind of limbo leaving the audience to draw their own conclusions. images of the sweeping winter landscape. This image of great cold and isolation is a key element in the story.

Somehow it’s difficult to sympathise with Lenz perhaps because his character is so bizarre and egoistic. The film has moments of great drama and humour but it fails to gel together as a whole. I suspect that this disjointedness is intentional as part of the portrayal of Lenz’s increasing hysteria. The film ends