Shrieks, laughter, the roar of music and fairground rides hurtling along at breakneck speed – a brief electric crackle and the cacophony of a hot summer night at the fun fair dies away. The ensuing silence is broken by a toy radio squawking from a dustbin. It takes the chance offered by the brief moment of the blackout to tell of waves of emotion it picked up, of secret love affairs and dreams in which the staff, characters and a single visitor in the shadow of the usual high-spirited entertainment bustle lose themselves. As in her previous films, Maria Dakszewicz once more detects, with remarkable sensitivity and precise observation, a place in the emotional hangover area of the spectacle. A place where there are no distractions and genuine dreams are allowed to grow and die. Much here remains vague, the insignificant becomes significant. Precisely sketched, assembled and with elisions, dissolves and distortions in the images, sounds and words, the director depicts a moment’s pause before the electricity comes back on and excess is back in full swing.

André Eckardt