Cracks in the Shell

Invisible is not a title most drama students want to be equated with. But for 20-year-old introverted Josephine, that's exactly how most people regard her. So when renowned director Kaspar Friedmann visits her acting school to cast his new production and inexplicably picks Josephine to play the lead role, not even Josephine can believe it. Witnessing her vulnerability, Kaspar sees that she is the perfect fragile creature to mold and manipulate into Camille—the sexually hyperactive, self-destructive muse of Kaspar's play. Determined to do what she must to keep the role, Josephine puts herself in the hands of Kaspar, initially unaware of the psychological limits he will push her to. As she morphs into Camille, her femininity awakens, shifting her identity both onstage and off, resulting in an interwining of the illusionary world of theater with real life. Reminiscent of Darren Aronosfky's “Black Swan,” CRACKS IN THE SHELL is a thrilling film about the dangerous game a theater director plays with his actors. (In German with subtitles) – M.M.