Next Door (2021) User Reviews (14)

A Solid Directional Debut

[cassieeM · 8/10 · 25 November 2021]

I love movies like this. Where there are very few locations (most of the time all the action set in one room) and two or three main characters. This is something in-between the movie and the theatre play, which makes it even more fascinating. No special effects, stunts, breath-taking shots and locations, everything fully relies on the dialogues and actor's performances. And this is why sometimes it is quite a hard task to make that kind of movie dynamic, grab viewer's attention at keep it till the very end.

However, the debutant Daniel Brühl did it immaculately. "Nebenan" is funny, intriguing, tense and sad. I can't say it is a comedy or thriller or drama, it is everything and anything of that at the same time. It is a movie about love, family, people, their mistakes and sorrows, their lies and secrets, it is also a movie about uneasy past of the country, of never ending conflict of interests and views, it's about social inequality, fame and wealth and poverty, it slightly touches almost every aspect of life, showing different prospects of view on the themes.

The main character of the movie Daniel, played by the one and only Daniel Brühl, is a very successful actor, who needs to go for an important audition for a super-cool-very-expensive-very-big-and-popular superhero movie (hmm, what that can be about?). Big money is at stake with the mind-blowing wave of popularity and recognisability and thousands of new fans. He is very nervous (obviously), so he decided to go and wait for his flight at not very luxurious (more accurately very not from high class) bar. There he meets another visitor of the bar (played by Peter Kurh), who is become to be not just a random stranger. Not to spoil anything let's just say he is a little bit rude and knows too much about Daniel. The whole movie is just a verbal confrontation between them with some unexpected twists. But it made in a way you will be wanting to be invented with the story it tells you

The acting is unconditionally good. Both actors did a great job, the main characters have chemistry between each other, which is vital, when you have nothing, but dialogues too keep audience interested. Speaking about directional part, I also have no claims. I really liked the cinematography of the movie. Even though there are only three or four different locations, the shots are very aesthetic, colourful and quite creative at times. The ending scene (the one that is at the bar) is my favourite, the music, camera movement, exposition creating very moving and memorable ending of a story.

So, if you are also a fan of this Chekhov-style small movies, you will definitely enjoy this one. The only reason I did not give 10/10 to it, is the fact that it is not something extraordinary, this movie is good, but it is very loyal to its genre and not trying to be revolutionary, which is not a bad thing. For Daniel Brühl it is a solid directional debut, confirming his versatility and talent in the field. And I am really looking forward to seeing his development as a director in the future.

Very good

[criquebeuf · 8/10 · 15 July 2021]

Nice storyline, great acting. If you are from Berlin you will enjoy the images. Nice job Daniel Bruhl.

Everything I hoped it to be

[aeon_g · 8/10 · 25 June 2022]

I can not imagine how much time and thinking needs to go into such a movie. There is not a lot happening, besides a couple people talking. And still, you feel the tension in every frame. Plus nothing feels forced or scripted. The pacing is just on point.

I am happy that his movie ended up being as good as it is. Hope he does more in the future.

Close proximity

[kosmasp · 9/10 · 17 July 2021]

Berlin - a city that still has its issues with its past. And while it states here that it is a comedy - I'd call that a bit of a far stretch. I'd call it a drama - with quite bit of comedic touches. Some may even feel this is a thriller. The way the trailer is cut certainly gives that impression (thankfully I only saw that after I had seen the movie).

Daniel Brühl can not only draw from his experience as an actor (the role he is offered may or may not be a wink at his Marvel role), but also his spanish roots - from one of his parents side that is. We knew that he is a great actor, but with this he seems to establish himself as a really good director as well. He certainly had a quite the tight script to work with - which always helps.

How good do we know our neighbors or anyone in close proximity to us? This has some bits of a spanish thriller I've seen, where misery played a big role. But it is not a remake of that, it has quite a few other elements in it. It is about fame, about relationships and more importantly about trust. Also it deals with the Stasi in a really clever way. Highly recommended, even if there may be times where it seems to come to a full stop .. a new revelation/twist will keep you on the edge of your seat ...

Absorbing film, brilliant acting

[withthefairies · 9/10 · 31 January 2023]

This was wonderful. Gradually growing tension, garnished with comic touches, and played to perfection by the two male leads.

A smooth and successful young actor is to fly from his Berlin home to Britain to audition for a superhero movie. His only frustration at that point is getting hold of the script. His taxi to the airport arrives too soon, so he sends it off and thinks to fill in time with a drink at the local bar. There he encounters another inhabitant of his block of flats. He treats their discussion with tactful reserve, as a fleeting encounter with an unimportant man. But the conversation proves quite sticky. His frustrations grow, tension deepens.

Almost the entire film takes place in the bar, giving it the feel of a stage play. And almost all the dialogue is between the two men, though there are important scenes involving his wife and the woman who owns the bar.

The backdrop is gentrification, with the two protagonists representing a clash between the old and the new. Looming over all is the shadow of the past: the Stalinist regime in Eastern Germany.

I would be happy to watch this again.

A rare example of a perfect real time movie in one location. Most underrated.

[AristarchosTheArchivist · 10/10 · 25 November 2022]

I did not know anything about this movie when I watched it on Netflix.

I suggest you dive right in.

This movie , directed and starring Daniel Brühl, with Peter Kurth as "the other guy" centers around an actor named Daniel who just wants to read the only page of a script he got for an audition, hence entering a pub for a coffee before taking his flight.

What unfolds is one of the best German movies I have seen in a long time.

Despite rarely leaving the premises, and playing in real time, this is veritable seat glue with brilliant dialogue and hard to guess twists and turns in the story.

Daniel Brühl got Daniel Kehlmann as the writer, who is also a novelist, and it shows in every detail.

Add to this a beautiful and effective cinematography and rare but masterful score/songs and we have ourselves a movie that will be shown in film making classes.

One can learn so much watching it.

I don't understand how this is not even rated a 7.0 on imdb.

You certainly won't be disappointed even when you go in with high expectations.

Well done, Daniel. Please make more movies. You are Germany's best talent.

Somehow wrong story and characters

[ebri-1 · 4/10 · 23 December 2022]

Reading the positive reviews I expected something better, but the whole situation of the movie is strange in a bad way, the reaction of the protagonist are sometimes believable, sometimes not so much. I know pace can be slow, but in the 2nd quarter it sometimes turns boring, though later catches up. (As an example Drive for me was much longer but I was not bored a second.) Ending also does not give a proper closure,

Motives might be understood, but I feel the resulting actions too much, or sometimes too little. Main characters are not likeable on the basis of what they present during the runtime of the movie, even not to the point (at least for me) to be interested what is happening above a high level interest, which is too small to carry a movie.

Interestingly directing, cinematography and other aspects of the movie were very good, and I did not arrive to the point to stop it. I don't hate it, but also not like it. So if I would have not known about it, I would not be unhappy, but there are much better movies to watch than this one.

Superb performances

[traceytak · 9/10 · 8 December 2021]

I would describe this as a drama and the performances of every actor are brilliant. They bounce of each other and the dialogue flows. This must be the best drama created during lockdown times that I have seen. Bruhl, as ever, has done an excellent job.

Amazingly Acted!

[manon-schroeder · 8/10 · 24 December 2022]

All I knew was that the movie would play in a corner bar in Berlin for most of the time. Therefore, I didn't expect much suspense but was proven wrong very quickly. It has amazingly written dialogues, superb acting by both lead actors and thus, doesn't get boring for even a split second.

I observed myself rooting for both lead characters in turns. Also, it gives you a lot to think about: Stasi, gentrification, envy, the value of money and fame.

The fact that Daniel Brühl plays a character seemingly close to himself (actor, german-spanish, two sons, superhero roles in the making) made it only better.

GOLDEN GLOBE nominee Daniel BRÜHL returns to Berlin

[ZeddaZogenau · 10/10 · 7 November 2023]

With seemingly little effort, a not so small story is told magnificently, like in a chamber play. German cinema can be so wonderful.

Two fantastic actors (director, leading actor and GOLDEN GLOBE nominee Daniel Brühl and the congenial Peter Kurth) engage in a psychological duel that seems to have been taken from life, and tells a lot about problems that we are all exposed to in some way. The chamber play-like setting in a Berlin corner bar plays with the theater tradition common in German-speaking countries. What I particularly like, however, is that the staging elements of the genre film are included. The seemingly chance encounter between two neighbors develops into a thriller, a western and, ultimately, even briefly into an action film. And always with humor and seriousness at the same time. And with self-irony! What is being said here about the participation of a German acting star in one of the superhero films that are currently so successful is so delicious and enlightening. But don't worry: the people at Warner Brothers/DC Films also earn money here ;-) Nevertheless, this German-language film proves again that cinema in this country is finally on the right track. You will never have the big budgets of American films here. That's why you need cleverness, playing with your own traditions and being close to your local audience in order to make successful and worth seeing films that can then also be viewed outside of German-speaking countries. "Next door" offers all of this. There are also beautiful pictures of the hustle and bustle of Berlin and an enchanting guest appearance by the Luxembourg world star Vicky Krieps.

Very good!

Frustrating

[shaun-35238 · 4/10 · 23 August 2022]

More of an arty style movie in my opinion.

It only momentarily goes outside the pub a couple of times so ignore other reviews about scenery etc of Berlin as there's only 1 street.

It was interesting to start with but got rather boring and the longer it went the more it dragged. For the most, it is a conversation between an actor about to head off overseas for a screen audition who gets wound up by a neighbour he didn't know he knew. The more the film goes on, the more he winds him up towards a pretty poor ending.

This will surely to appeal to some people, just not me.

A gem from Germany

[vkallist-139-952497 · 10/10 · 22 September 2022]

Great movie! 10/10. Great script, excellent dialogues, with humor, great acting. You must see it!

Bruno is very convincing, Daniel plays very well. It can be performed as a play as well. I am amazed that the movie is not so well known. Saw it at a German movie festival in Patras, Greece.

Daniel speaks German, English and Spanish fluently.

Most of the movie takes place at a coffee shop in Berlin. Even the coffee shop owner plays small part and still is distinguished.

The dialogues are very strong and are the backbone of the picture, with continuous reversals. You change your mind about what is happening all the time.

Nebenan

[rabizlatko · 10/10 · 5 November 2022]

Excellent movie. Very stimulating for positive thoughts about the world we live in and how some people want to "improve" it. It's been a week since I watched it and I'm still thinking about it. I like movies that make me think about something better or that show current processes in the world we live in in a revealing way. This movie is like that. I watched it on Croatian TV and I would like to watch it again and I would like to have it in my home collection because I consider it particularly valuable. Congratulations to all authors. Well done and thank you. (I'm an engineer and of course I'm not a film critic)

Stalker!

[Motion-Picture-Watchmen · 12 November 2022]

While the main trailer for this film was quite impressive and promising, I must admit that the movie loses it's freshness due to the postmodern features.

And with that I principally mean the normalization of frighteningly strange story points. With that I mean the lack of an accurate representation on how someone normal would react to the things going on.

Daniel Brühl is brilliant, as he should be, but his character and the others do not react normally. This gives the movie an bizarre feeling. Because the sense of being appalled is not properly shown.

From a filmmaking point of view this film is solid, but it just fails because of postmodernism.