If children know everything: Frédéric Hambalek's gripping new film!

Frédéric Hambalek präsentiert mit „Was Marielle weiß“ einen eindringlichen Film über familiäre Geheimnisse und Privatsphäre.
With "What Marielle Weiß", Frédéric Hambalek presents an urgent film about family secrets and privacy. (Symbolbild/ANAG)

If children know everything: Frédéric Hambalek's gripping new film!

Today, on April 21, 2025, the new film "What Marielle knows" by Frédéric Hambalek is expected with great excitement. With this work, the director has created a remarkable, dark dramedy, which is characterized by pointed, laconic dialogues and a surreal atmosphere. The challenge that he made himself is both daring and fascinating, since the film addresses central conflicts within a family that appears harmonious at first glance.

The film is about Julia, Tobias and her 13-year-old daughter Marielle, who suddenly gains telepathic skills after being hit her face by her best friend. These new powers enable her to see and hear everything her parents do, which leads to a serious loss of privacy. According to muelheim-ruhr.de brings this situation deeply hidden conflicts and asking whether children would still love their parents if they would know everything about them.

The dynamics of the family

The perspective of the film remains mainly among the parents. The spectators no longer learn more than they do. Marielle, played by the emerging actress Laeni Geiseler, observes the behavior of her parents and sees, for example, how her mother flirts, which she sees as unfaithful. Even her father's attempts to assert himself end in a disaster. This dynamic narrative manner transforms the film into a social experiment on voyeurism within families and about the moral challenges associated with such a loss of privacy, such as HollywooReporter.com Titelt.

Frédéric Hambalek made sure when the film was created that no judgment about the parents is made. Rather, what happens if there is no place to hide. Through this narrative, the film challenges the viewers to think about the balance between honesty and privacy in families.

reviews and first impressions

"What Marielle Weiß" celebrated his premiere in the Berlinale competition and has so far been promised by critics. Many compare Hambalek's work with films by Yorgos Lanthimos and M. Night Shyamalan. These comparisons illustrate the potential of the film to captivate the audience through its mixture of drama and absurd humor.

The camera work increases the topics of voyeurism and moral review and lets the audience immerse yourself in the world of Marielle. The film even has potential for remakes, but could be censored in a Disney version, which underlines the exciting but also delicate topics that it treats.

Overall, "what Marielle knows" is a profound examination of the question of how parents behave when they know that their children are constantly watching them. It remains to be seen how the audience will react to this extraordinary film.

Details
Quellen