The Universal Theory is a German supernatural thriller written by Timm Kröger. It centers around a young physicist, who, while at a quantum mechanics convention near the Swiss Alps, becomes tangled in webs of murder, insanity, and conspiracy.
The rest of the film performed similarly on the level of the remarkable, yet some might even say mystifying, feature debut by Kröger. It is evident in the more mountainous region which comes from a semblance of a source of intrigue and a point of reference, especially to the ‘Magic Mountain’ by Thomas Mann which contains a host of existential thought alongside the alpine sanatorium. But Alfred Hitchcock’s “Spellbound” movie, especially the scene where Gregory that Kelly and Gregory marvel at the slopes dressed in snow triggers an avalanche of withheld memories and is pulled even more firmly into its gravitational string.
Johannes (Jan Bülow) has not yet published his thesis on the possible existence of multiple universes but he is traveling alongside his doctoral supervisor to the first conference of 1962. This is an opportunity for Jan to listen to a prominent Iranian scientist’s ‘groundbreaking theory of quantum mechanics,’ and use that information for himself.
However, during the unusual occurrences happening in the unexplained mountains, the scientist never shows up. Johannes is now left on his own with no guidance. The rest of the summit attendants decide to take to the slopes while Johannes comes across another academic, Dr. Blumberg, who takes offense at Strathan’s views towards his theory. Blumberg does not hide the fact that he is gravely affected by the legacy the scientist Heisenberg left behind, as both of them were his students.
Karin (Olivia Ross), a stunning jazz pianist steals Johannes’s attention when he sees her at the reception and feels a sense of familiarity towards her. At first, Johannes tries to hit on her but she conveys knowledge of his past that she shouldn’t be able to know about and they start an affair that leaves Johannes obsessed.
With folds in the body and recovery shrouded in mystery, a scientist’s death is discovered, followed by Johannes shedding light on more bizarre incidents along with strange government agents, including oddly timed avalanches and breathtaking cloud formations. All these incidents seem to have deepened Johannes’s confusion along with his distress as it seems like there’s a clue waiting to be found.
One broader change the movie makes is choosing for the soundtrack to play ‘only’ during particular scenes such as the cloud formations and government ambiguity. The deep confusion allows us to hover over the lack of logic behind subliminal message-clad parts and makes the audience question the scenes behind Johannes’s chase of echoes. The building that serves to let the audience esteem how clever they are serves the purpose of indulging us in ‘meme magic’ when placed on the protagonists. Every hidden piece of a potentially sad and sick child serves the deeper question as to what makes the human psyche follow such a cruel and sophisticated yet painful existence to consume their whole body.
In contrast to the plot filled with sorrowful tragedy, the visual defines the feeling of relief in comparison. Shot in cinema scope with deeply contrasting black and white, the film captures the audience, making us rethink how we recalled the piece of montage as a product of that time alongside an amazing dolly to the era of 1940-50s film noir.
Alongside that, the film’s deliberate style, along with the stiff charm and topography, generates a blend of harshness and charm, including the romance of the two leading characters, which is both tragic and fatalistic at the same time. In conjunction with its period aesthetics, the romance adds a charge of nitrate. When thinking about rifts within reality and even parallel universes, “The Universal Theory” serves as proof, but for which piece of reality remains unclear, and most importantly, his director possesses strong appeal towards his inspirations. Because of this, it’s wonderful that world-famous cinema came into Kröger’s memories, as a dream and a golden age, rather than a real one. The twin toile de jouy pattern serves to strengthen his illusion, but the tangled series of events makes it seem as though the viewer is not witnessing magic, instead, they are being told an elaborate and beautifully crafted lie.
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