Bis ans Ende der Nacht

A crime thriller rubs up against a melodrama, complete with nods to Fassbinder: undercover agent Robert (Timocin Ziegler) is tasked with infiltrating the inner circle of big-time drug dealer Victor. Trans woman Leni (Thea Ehre) is used as bait and will be freed from prison as a reward. The two must play a couple in love while undercover—which is exactly what they once were before Leni’s transition, a change  which the macho gay man doesn’t quite know how to handle. Is it a deal or love? Or both? In any case, feelings are involved—more or less genuine. The central set-up of cop, gangster and femme fatale, along with the themes of desire, deception and betrayal, stick to the rules of the genre, even as the standard gender dynamics are simultaneously challenged by the trans perspective. Other highlights include visual compositions in semi-darkness, the blurring, reflections and glints of light captured by Reinhold Vorschneider’s camerawork, as well as a melancholic soundtrack featuring chansons by Heidi Brühl, Esther Ofarim, Hildegard Knef and more. (bik)