German Film Fest 2024 Review - Foreign Language

Images courtesy of the German Film Festival.

That’s a lot of French for a film at the German Film Festival.

Foreign Language follows 17 year old Fanny (Lilith Grasmug), a French girl on exchange in Leipzig, Germany as she develops a sweet friendship that blossoms into a romance with her pen-pal, Lena (Josefa Heinsius). As she struggles with a strained relationship with her parents, mental health challenges and the added stress of moving to a different city, Fanny is confused and alone. But she connects with Lena.

Both girls are deeply unlikeable and flawed. They fumble through their early social interactions and struggle to cope with their sour family lives. At times, the awkward dialogue and restrained delivery from Grasmug and Heinsius is hard to watch, but this adds to the authentic aura of the film. Not once did we feel it detracted from the excellence of the film. Finding yourself in your teens is uncomfortable, filled with mistakes and clumsy triumphs, and that's what Foreign Language champions.

Both main characters seem to harbour a lot of pain and represent the perplexing rollercoaster of female adolescence in a time of social unrest. We see them navigate a variety of confusing situations together, becoming each other’s main place of trust and support in a relationship that grows naturally as the film progresses.

It is refreshing to see a lesbian romance that didn't revolve around the coming out process or parental disapproval. It felt as though the romantic relationship wasn’t the main focus, but rather a meeting point for the two girls' different struggles in their adolescence. The representation of their relationship is also, unconventionally, un-sexualised. Their bond was made over their shared interests, similar family dynamics and inner turmoil, two complex characters who find solace in one another.

The core of the film is an exploration of compassion and forgiveness… even if that forgiveness is difficult. In an effort not to spoil the film, we will leave our ominous statement about the ending of the film here… but just know the ending did have us shook, and wish we all had a friend like Lena.

Foreign Language seems to be the ultimate story of the girlhood experience. Not only is it a story of romance, but a romance rooted in the widely adored and furiously complex female friendship narrative. Though Fanny travels from an entirely different country, and struggles to speak German, she and Lena are incredibly alike, and connect on a level deeper than any language could explain.

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Foreign Language screened as part of the 2024 German Film Festival. The Melbourne festival ran from the 10th-29th of May. For more info, click here.