[original title: La secuestra de la novia]
The Kidnapping of the Bride is a German short-film written and directed by Sophia Mocorrea and produced under the guidance of Brandenburg’s public broadcaster RBB. While the film apparently also has a semi-official German title (Die Brautentführung), its official title in Germany seems to be the Spanish one (La secuestra de la novia) – a fitting choice since the film portrays an intercultural couple and features some culture clash moments. The languages spoken in this short film are German, Spanish and English; when being broadcast in Germany, the Spanish and English dialogue are subtitled in German while the large German passages are not subtitled in any language.
Louisa (Rai Todoroff) is from Buenos Aires, but she lives with her fiancé Fred (David Bruning) in or near Berlin. I said that the film features some culture clash moments, but Mocorrea makes the deliberate choice of not featuring any culture clash between Louisa and Fred (as is done in so many films) but instead a culture clash between the young, modern couple and their more traditional families (especially the older generation). So there is not much focus on differences between Germany and Argentina, but more focus on gender roles and associated expectations.
As the couple’s wedding is going to take place soon, Louisa’s family arrive from Buenos Aires. They bring an heirloom wedding dress with them, despite the fact that Louisa told them she already has a dress. On the other side of the family, Fred’s Brandenburg-based parents are pressuring them to move into the gloomy provincial house the family inherited after the grandfather’s death.
With all sorts of expectations and traditions foisted upon them, the couple’s relationship is beginning to show cracks under the high-pressure environment of the wedding preparations.
The short is divided into five parts. A short preamble, and 4 chapters whose titles stick to the wedding theme: algo viejo; algo nuevo; algo prestado; algo azul.
One key event in this short film is the “kidnapping of the bride” which gives the film its title. It is a (predominantly southern German) tradition where the bride is whisked away by friends of the groom who has then go on a quest to find her – a process which can be costly or can involve the groom having to endure several tasks. At any rate, it is probably irritating and annoying at the best of times.
As I said, while Mocorrea plays with cultural attitudes (including a Lamawanderung), most of the conflict in this film is a generational clash. The highlight of the film might be Fred’s ultra-liberal hippster-parents who are unable to recognise their own hidden conservative attitudes. The German term “spießig” would perfectly describe them, but there is probably no adequate translation for that in any language (the suggestions by the English Wiktionary certainly don’t cut it, although “square” does cover at least large parts of the meaning). While there are many good performances in this film, including by the leads, it is this hippster-paradox that allows Michaela Winterstein to outshine the others in the role as Fred’s mother.
The Kidnapping of the Bride is a very good short film which has been rightfully lauded by critics and juries. It was awarded a prize as Best International Short Film at the 2023 Sundance Festival, and that same year received a special mention by the jury of one of the Berlinale’s many sub-sections.
The only question that arises for me is whether Mocorrea has packed too much sub-text into this film – while she was potentially boxed-in too much by the focus on the “kidnapping of the bride” as well as the immovable chapter headings. A less rigid outer structure might have allowed her to explore her themes more freely.
I would rate this short at 7 out of 10.
Latin American Film Reviews 