A Promise

A man gets divorced from his wife because he is in love with another woman. What in mainstream films is just your average run-of-the-mill tearjerker, in Levin Peter’s feature-length debut becomes a deeply involving reflection on the complexities of human emotions. Using his own divorce as a starting point, director Levin Peter questions the very notion of the promise that is exchanged when two human beings are married. What lies behind the words of a promise whereby one swears solemnly to love another person no matter which obstacles could lay ahead in the future? And, most challenging of all, is it even possible to still speak and talk about love in a society where it is the most commoditized item of them all? Thus begins a deep investigation of the dynamics and tensions that people experience when they are committed to a relationship. The director openly questions his father about his marriage to his mother, and other people broaden the palette of motives and experiences along the way. Ein Versprechen is a film that respectfully explores what keeps people alive and how they manage to recover when their hopes and dreams crash.

Giona A. Nazzaro