When we first meet husband Jan (Dark’s Mark Waschke) and wife Nina (Sabine Timoteo) in Ronny Trocker’s Human Factors, they have just arrived at their vacation home. They’re hoping to get some respite from the brewing stress at the advertising agency that they co-own where they have taken a new political client which has upped the public scrutiny that such a client can bring.
Only their trip proves to be anything but idyllic after Jan returns home from a trip to the grocery store to find his wife and children scared after a burglar has ransacked their home. The only oddity is that no one witnessed this but Nina and no one is sure if there really was a burglary at all.
What is the truth, is it only a matter of perspective? Trocker shows the developments and how they play out from each of their perspectives as well as their daughter, Emma (Jule Hermann), and son, Max (Wanja Valentin Kube). This provides us more and more insight into not only what actually went on inside the house but more importantly, within the dynamic of this family.
We see this pivotal moment cause a dissection into their marriage and how their loyalty to one another is being battle-tested by this home invasion as well as the stress this newfound political climate is having on their business as well as their marriage.
Part family drama part mystery with a hint at thrilling elements that don’t quite conjure up to a satisfying conclusion. There are some tight directional influences from Michael Haneke with a quiet lingering tension felt within the family dynamic, all of which is performed quite well by its cast, especially Waschke and Timoteo.
While the performances and the dark-tinted mysterious direction from Trocker is well crafted in a way that you admire from an artistic standpoint, as a narrative it leaves you wanting a bit more, never quite holding your attention enough and delivering a conclusion that leaves you with just as many questions as you had before.
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