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A son who grows up too quickly and a pregnancy out of nowhere: in the film "Norma Dorma", the main character's life takes unusual turns.
Keystone
Nothing is ordinary in the mystery melodrama "Norma Dorma" by Zurich director Lorenz Suter: neither the cast, nor the narrative style - and certainly not the color scheme.
And then one morning Norma (Marina Guerrini) is pregnant. Very pregnant. During the night, she had a dream about Henri (Jeroen Engelsman), her boyfriend. He has disappeared and now only appears in her dreams. Norma's son Lenny is growing far too fast, and eye drops help her jump into an even crazier dream world.
Yes, in Lorenz Suter's mystery melodrama "Norma Dorma", things are very round. And very red: the color grading - the dream world appears predominantly in shades of red - has perhaps got a little out of hand. Or is trying to tell us something. But what?
The story of Norma takes place between everyday life and dreams, rarely in the mountains, more often around the Sugushäuser in Zurich. These recently achieved national fame outside the realm of cinema because the tenants resisted evictions.
In the film, Norma, who lives in this neighborhood, doesn't fight against anything at first, but allows herself to drift through her desperate life. Always accompanied by her smartwatch, which gives her information about her state of health. We are very grateful to the watch for literally bringing us back down to earth and back to reality, if we can speak of such a thing.
Zurich director Lorenz Suter won the Zurich Film Foundation's "Fast Track" innovation competition in 2019 for his idea for "Norma Dorma". He was not only daring in the direction of the film, but also in the casting: his partner Marina Guerrini plays the lead role and their two children are also in front of the camera.
In the confusing story, Norma finally finds a supposed ally - in sleep researcher Mikka (Jeanne Werner). And then the misery continues.
You can see it like this: Lorenz Suter's movie is different. It is courageous, even daring, at times somnambulistically beautiful. That is remarkable. But it's almost impossible to stop rubbing your eyes, and that's not even to do with the sometimes somewhat bumpy performance of the actors. Suter's confused thoughts are exhausting. At all times, you wish Norma and yourself an end to her (nightmare) dream and thus a return to a normal-toned, less nervous film world. Admittedly: But you also want to know how it ends!
*This text by Nina Kobelt, Keystone-SDA, was realized with the help of the Gottlieb and Hans Vogt Foundation.
17.07.2025, 06:30
17.07.2025, 11:45
