Second Sight: 'Jerichow'

Germany might be Europe's economic powerhouse, but outside the big cities on the former East German side, things can still be depressing. One such moribund town is Jerichow, the setting for Christian Petzoid's 2008 potboiler.

A Deutsch variation on James M. Cain's novel The Postman Always Rings Twice, the taut drama is less a noir thriller than a Euro socio-political indictment in grey, ambiguous tones. A jobless man, Thomas (Benno Fürmann), is befriended by a rich Turk named Ali (Hilmi Sözer). By rich, we mean he runs a chain of nickel and dime snack shops, which by the small town's standard is a fortune. He is married to an attractive ethnic German woman, Laura (Nina Hoss).

The aloof Thomas was a soldier, dishonourably discharged after serving in Afghanistan. Laura is mired in debt so she accepts her dull existence helping Ali run kebab shops as the price for solvency. But it is not long before Thomas and Laura's attraction becomes too much to resist.

The shrewd, money-minded Ali has problems too. His workers are constantly trying to rip him off and he faces discrimination daily as an immigrant. If he is not the most romantic of husbands, it's because he needs to focus on the books.

When the inevitable betrayal comes, it is less about greed than escaping the loveless doldrums. "You can't love if you don't have money," Laura says. Lust and passion are far less important than finance and livelihood in Jerichow.