06/02/2025 - Tim Ellrich’s first solo feature shows promising directing skills, but the final result is not particularly memorable owing to a rather predictable narrative

Tim Ellrich’s first solo feature, the drama In My Parents’ House [+see also:
trailer
interview: Tim Ellrich
film profile], is one of the titles that have world-premiered in the Tiger Competition of this year’s International Film Festival Rotterdam.

Inspired by the filmmaker’s own family experiences and shot on location at his childhood home, the plot zooms in on a woman called Holle, a spiritual healer played by Jenny Schily, who dedicates herself to supporting clients with severe illnesses and chronic conditions. As one of four siblings, she also devotes a significant amount of time to caring for her ageing parents (portrayed by Ursula Werner and Manfred Zapatka), a responsibility that puts a strain on her relationship with her partner, Dieter (Johannes Zeiler). When her mother is hospitalised after a fall, Holle is confronted with increasing challenges, particularly regarding her brother Sven (Jens Brock), who suffers from schizophrenia and has spent years living in isolation in their parents’ attic.

Ellrich’s work is tightly controlled, disciplined and well-crafted, yet it suffers from some evident shortcomings. Visually speaking, the main choice prompting some perplexity is the decision to shoot the entire film in black and white. A lack of colour usually creates distancing, favours abstraction and “reduces” the information conveyed to the audience. In this peculiar type of family tale, clearly set in a contemporary environment, such distancing simply feels cold-hearted and lacks sufficient motivation.

Furthermore, the theme of caregiving is explored with adequate depth, but nothing more. Although family responsibility and incommunicability are certainly relatable matters for most of the audience, their nuances provided here are portrayed with a good dose of realism, but never turn into anything unique or add any layers of meaning. Everything remains on a safe, predictable level, governed by a sort of Apollonian “comfort zone”, rather than a Dionysian creative force.

In fairness, there are also some sparks of promise here and there. For example, Dieter’s harsh takes on social conventions, as well as Sven’s silences and hysterical crises, are painful yet compelling to watch. These intuitions show Ellrich’s potential and budding directing talent. On another positive note, the entire cast delivers good performances, and almost each and every scene works by itself. Even though the framing choices and staging aren’t particularly innovative, their static nature and simplicity are effective in a piece like this, which relies heavily on subtlety. And, commendably, the dialogues are always dry and to the point.

That being said, the audience may perceive all of this as a well-executed work that ultimately lacks punch and struggles to stand out from the crowded filmography of family dramas. Moreover, the closure of the narrative arc feels rushed, as the lowest point unfolds a few minutes before the end credits, making the last scene look rather postiche and inorganic within the way the story develops.

In My Parents’ House is a German production staged by elemag pictures GmbH, Port-Au-Prince Pictures GmbH and Coronado Film.