How Much Honesty Is The Best Policy?

What Marielle Knows

What Marielle Knows Rating

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What Marielle Knows is a part of Melbourne’s German Film Festival for 2025. It was selected and screened at the Berlinale this year and follows parents Julia and Tobias when they discover that their daughter can see and hear everything they do, whether she is with them or not. The film is advertised as a comedy, however I think it would be better suited to a dark comedy label, dabbling very closely with drama. The film centres on the married couple and how through discovering their daughter’s sudden telepathic abilities, the fragile foundations of their relationship start to crumble and teeter them dangerously close to divorce.

The film tackles a lot in its 86 minute run time, which makes for a really engaging watch. On the surface What Marielle Knows is looking at lying, where the line is, what does honesty mean when compared to truth, and how much of the truth we should share with the people in our lives. Underneath that, it interrogates family dynamics, how each parent has a distinctly different connection with the same child and how this can be manipulated by either parent. It looks at the plain and simple morality of a child and tries to apply those black and white notions to complicated, more mature feelings.

At the bottom of the iceberg, the film is an exploration of the lessons parents teach their kids, commenting on how although they don’t see every action their parents take, there will always be a follow through of emotional consequences. I enjoyed the way the film brought each of these themes up. It felt as though director Frédéric Hambalek thought carefully about each when embedding them into the film’s narrative.

What did divert this understanding for me, was little attention the film paid to Marielle herself. Her parents are the main characters and in many ways Marielle serves as the antagonist, so it was an interesting creative choice to only really examine her reactions through the slow motion, rainbow dyed frames of her that were inserted between moments like title cards. It didn’t do a disservice to the story, as it focused on parental guilt and the pressures of trying to be a good parent and what that even means, but it did make me itch for a version of events told from her eyes, how she’s reacting to some of the more intense moments Julia and Tobias experience.

The greatest highlight of the film to me was the performances. Julia Jentsch, who played Julia, Felix Kramer who portrayed Tobias and Laeni Geiseler who was Marielle, all really brought their characters to life in a way that really allowed me to empathise with all of them. Felix Kramer in particular really shone to me, he conveyed a man on the brink of a nervous breakdown with such careful restraint; the whole film I was waiting to watch the delicate wire he perched his character on snap. Together, the cast had fantastic chemistry, despite their differing physical appearances, they really felt like a believable family unit.

As equally empathetic each character felt to the audience, I thought it was an interesting choice to make Julia’s character into the villain towards the end of the film. The film and Marielle gave Tobias much more grace for his actions, but gave Julia the most work to overcome. I didn’t necessarily resonate with this aspect of the story, considering how much Tobias consistently abused her trust throughout the film, however I do think that beneath this is an interesting discussion of where the line is when it comes to telling the ‘truth’.

For a comedy, this film packs its themes in air tight and gives the viewer plenty to chew on through a unique and original concept.

To book tickets to What Marielle Knows, or any other films in the German Film Festival, please visit https://germanfilmfestival.com.au/.

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Storked: The Reality Of My Body Is Monstrous

Storked

Storked Rating

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Storked is a vignetted interrogation of all things uterine: what it means to have a uterus, the expectations of having a uterus, and the “choice to choose.” The play looks at periods, pregnancy, monogamy, family, parenting, sex, and what it means to choose to have children in today’s world.

The show is told across four acts, broken down into a mixture of skits, short narratives and thought explorations, each with their own witty title card, wrapping each moment into a neat bow. What’s truly impressive here is that throughout every single segment, it all connects seamlessly to the key idea at the show’s core; what it means to have a uterus, regardless of your gender.

The pacing was fantastic, and each act threw a different tonal angle at you with what it wanted to say. The first act was my favourite, a great mix of absurdist comedy following a brutal body horror opening. As the show progressed, this first act was the perfect reminder of the range of each performer on stage. As the scenes and themes became heavier, I was reminded of how much each actor made me laugh, then so easily in another context made my heart break for them. I always find it impressive how you can dive so deep into a topic and really strike a chord but do so whilst still making the audience laugh, which Storked pulled off effortlessly, through witty writing and exceptional use of physical comedy.

Storked took on an excellent use of staging, incorporating technology in a way that really added another level to the show. The titles of each scene made me giggle every time, even when the performance accompanying it put a pit in my stomach; a perfect encapsulation of how this show twists and turns tone, whilst somehow never tipping the pendulum entirely in favour of one or the other in a really remarkable balancing act.

At the end of the performance, it was an added thrill to scroll through the cast and crew listing and see a sea of nonbinary and femme pronouns taking the majority. As a queer femme myself, this makes my heart sing. To know how authentic and true to life these stories are, how insane the stakes become in sections of these vignettes, but still connect so deeply with the material its tackling, is because it all comes from a collective of people who share this frustration, fatigue and downright rage for the societal systems that force us to think about these things all the time from far too young of an age.

Storked is a true blend of genres, taking elements of body horror, satirical comedy, spoken word poetry and blending it into a hilarious, devastating and ultimately truthful exploration of what it means to have a womb.

To book tickets to Storked, please visit https://antipodestheatre.com/.

Photography:- Angel Leggas 3 Fates Media

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The Beep Test: An Airtight, Raucous Hoot Of Nostalgia.

The Beep Test

The Beep Test Rating

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The Beep Test follows Jane, Zach, Cooper and Sandra in their year 7 beep test and Sir, the PE teacher enforcing this hell upon them. The show explores the pressures and high stakes of high school, the importance of finding your own worth and what an absolute nightmare the beep test is, all in a short and sweet 60 minute run time.

At the first toll of the titular ‘beep’ you could practically feel the shiver that went down the spine of every audience member. Sat beside a friend of mine from high school, she gripped my arm, bracing for impact. Such a clever concept to take one of the most hated Australian school activities and draw it out to interrogate the themes that affect teenagers of this age.

Like high school, the stakes feel ridiculously high, the perfect vessel for big laughs, which The Beep Test delivered on at every point. The show crammed as much comedy as it could into its 60 minute run time, milking every second of stage time and every ounce of physicality to ensure our cheeks hurt by the end. With a full audience, not a single joke didn’t land. Through this, what I most admired was how each emotional beat still landed. Neylon and Peele balanced the stakes for these characters while keeping us laughing, but never at the expense of rushing through appropriate character development. It was almost pantomime how quickly the show had the whole audience uproariously laughing, to then cooing with a sea of “aww’s” as the romantic storyline progressed, or as another detail was revealed about a student’s depressing home life.

Each actor really shone as well, hitting the comedic beats and every note. The vocals were particularly impressive from the leads Sara Reed and Axel Duffy who portrayed Jane and Zach respectively. Similarly, I adored the chemistry between Sebastian Li, who played Cooper and Carly Jaz, who played Sandra. I was hook, line and sinker for every moment of their storyline. With the exception of the musical number ‘Zachiarah Nicholson’, the songs between these two characters won my heart over every time.

The staging was great. The back wall of the school gym was riddled with graffiti and secret silly details, and my friend and I spent each moment before the lights went down and as the lights came out pointing out to each other and giggling. It was a really well-executed use of space, immersive and simple, with essentially the only key props being a bench seat and the cones the characters had to run between.

There were a few aspects of Jane’s storyline I wanted slightly more from. For me, she was the character who had the least backstory, and her motivation felt a little one note. Sara Reed performed as Jane fantastically; however, with so much of the dialogue in the show putting her down for being a girl, with that simple term being used as an insult, I wanted more rage from her character. It’s clear she wants to beat Zach to prove to herself that she can, but I almost feel like there was further possibility for comedy in pushing that motivation further and tying it into the playground misogyny that is consistently thrown her way.

The Beep Test is an undeniably charming comedy musical bursting with passion, heart and consistent laughs.

To book tickets to The Beep Test, please visit https://www.theatreworks.org.au/2025/the-beep-test.

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