2017 AFI Fest

In the Fade (Aus dem Nichts, 2017), has international star Diane Kruger {Inglourious Basterds (2009] as Katja, a devoted mom turned terrorist. Co-written and directed by Fatih Akin, the film illuminates some of the complex reasons for terrorism by focusing on how it affects one person in its aftermath. It’s a gripping performance, one of this year’s best.

Photo courtesy of AFI Fest

At AFI Fest, Kruger spoke about returning to film in Germany after years abroad (Believe it or not, she even plays Kellyanne Conway in a “funny or die” short!). In The Fade is an unglamorous, difficult role that’s created Oscar buzz.

She met Akin at Cannes in 2012 when she attended a student workshop he was leading and they eventually discussed working on a project together.

To develop her character Katja, Kruger sat in on self-help groups for people who had experienced a profound loss and how they worked through the stages of grief. Of course, most of those people didn’t resort to the extreme coping measures of her character.

Also at the Q&A, Akin said that the most difficult part to film technically was the second third which becomes a legal drama. The third and final section was the most transcendent, he said. “There’s a moment when the film gets its own energy … The light was beautiful, I just let the camera run.”

In the Fade is a film that’s sure to generate controversy. It’s worth watching if only for Kruger’s transformative performance.