EIFF 2022: A E I O U - A Quick Alphabet of Love
A purse-snatching leads to a spring-autumn romance in this curious German film exploring a middle-aged woman's sexual desire for a much younger man
Nicolette Krebitz’s A E I O U - A Quick Alphabet of Love borrows from a rich history of cinematic love stories told from the perspective of women (if rarely written and directed by them). Set in Germany and France, the film’s light-hearted narrative marries passion with crime – it also doubles as a love letter to the old city of West Berlin where everyone still lives in huge apartments with tiny furniture.
While walking home on an already miserable day, having been objectified, laughed at and then labelled crazy for standing her ground, an ageing actor’s purse is stolen. Yet she soon finds herself in love with the at-large suspect, a much younger man who before long becomes her student and even steals her a new purse to replace the old one. In this unlikeliest of age gap romances, it’s not the borderline kleptomania that’s treated as the taboo subject, but rather the unfettered sexual desire of an older woman.
Krebitz is often mentioned in the same breath as German filmmaker Maren Ad, who has a producing credit on the film, and fellow actors-turned-director Maria Schrader. Her previous feature was Wild, a modern fable in which the female protagonist falls for a wolf, and she mines many of the same themes here. On the surface, A E I O U is more grounded in reality, but as the narrative goes on, the suspension of disbelief required for both is of a similar magnitude, with A E I O U’s flights of fancy verging on caper territory. Falling under the EIFF’s Postcards From The Edge strand, Krebitz’s film fits the tagline perfectly, offering up a bold vision to expand horizons of what is deemed acceptable for women to want.
Fran Bowden is a student at University of Manchester and part of Edinburgh’s International Film Festival’s Young Critics Programme 2022 – scroll on to read more from this year's Young Critics...