The Audition

Anna Bronsky, a violin teacher at an elite Berlin academy for youth musicians, is not what she seems. As The Audition begins, director Ina Weisse gives Anna the aura of a champion of the underdog. Anna argues in favor of admission for a talented but high-strung youth named Alexander (Ilya Monte), who is given six months to improve enough to pass an audition that will determine whether he can remain in the school.

In those six months, Anna’s life starts to crumble, and the movie gradually shifts from the expected teacher-student drama to something darker and more amorphous. Anna (Nina Hoss), it seems, has been cheating on her French husband, Philippe (Simon Abkarian), a maker of custom string instruments, and she’s leaning on her young son, Jonas (Serafin Mishiev), to become a premier violinist when he’d really rather play hockey.

Apparently Anna has unresolved self-doubt that traces back to her elderly parents (they live nearby, although they need more assistance than Anna can provide), and she’s a concert-level violinist herself who’s no longer able to perform in public.

In the way of many European family dramas, what’s wrong with Anna is never quite clear, and it soon becomes apparent that no neat resolution will be forthcoming. The central relationship turns out to be between Anna and Jonas, not Anna and her student — whom her son sees as his rival. How that plays out determines the outcome of the movie, and it’s unlikely moviegoers will be able to predict the icy ending.

That’s less of a spoiler than a caveat: If you dive into The Audition, keep in mind it’s less Mr. Holland’s Opus and more Whiplash — if the central music teacher were both unlikable and seemingly ineffective. Director Weisse keeps the movie gripping and unpredictable, but she has no interest in making it comfortable. Similarly, Hoss’s lead performance is intense, at times sympathetic and at times appalling, without any melodrama to separate the extremes. Music, the movie seems to be saying, is perfection, but the people who produce it are anything but.

Grade: B-plus. Unrated but PG-13 equivalent, with some mundane nudity. Available to stream online June 26 via the Grail Moviehouse’s Sofa Cinema program.

(Photo: Coutesy of Lupa Films/Strand Releasing)