It begins with enigmatic scenes. Zhenia, the masseur, seems to have magical hands. He is revered as a savior. What makes this man so special?
Berlin – what a treat a massage can be! When the fingers gently press into the muscles and release even the most stubborn tension.
Zhenia, the main character in "The Masseur", also seems to be particularly talented. At least his customers can't get enough of him. But what is really going on? Even the first scenes of this German co-production seem puzzling. With a massage table over her shoulder, Zhenia escapes from Ukraine across the border, puts a customs officer into a kind of trance and disappears. He later turns up in a wealthy, isolated suburb settlement full of single-family homes. There he goes from door to door and is already expected. In this quietly told satire, the Polish filmmakers Malgorzata Szumowska and Michal Englert take an unusual look at our affluent societies.
The masseur, Poland / Germany 2020, 123 min., FSK oA, by Malgorzata Szumowska, Michal Englert, with Alec Utgoff, Agata Kulesza, Maja Ostaszewska. dpa
