One of the best films of the year is finally available in home theater today – the ending will keep you entertained for a long time

Although Paul Schrader has been active as a director and/or screenwriter since the 1970s, over the course of the 2000s it seemed that the author of ‘Taxi Driver’ increasingly said goodbye to the film industry. Not only because it became increasingly difficult for him to obtain financing for his projects, but also because Schrader’s dissatisfaction with being repeatedly denied the final version of his works steadily grew.

Paul Schrader would make a comeback of sorts in 2017 with “First Reformed,” which ultimately received an Oscar nomination for its excellent screenplay. Four years later, the next masterpiece, ‘The Card Counter’, was released, landing at the top of many filmmakers’ annual best lists. Of “Master GardenerPaul Schrader’s latest joke is now being released in Germany – not in cinemas, but from today on Blu-ray and DVD. Alternatively, you can also use the paid Video On Demand.

The conclusion of the so-called ‘Man In A Room’ trilogy, which consists of ‘First Reformed’, ‘The Card Counter’ and ‘Master Gardener’, is once again complex adult cinema, which – as is typical for Paul Schrader – will continue to be great. be remembered for a long time.

That’s what “Master Gardener” is about

With his team, Narvel Roth (Joel Edgerton) runs the botanical garden around the old southern mansion of the wealthy Norma Haverhill (Sigourney Weaver). Once a week he sleeps with his boss on a fixed date, but otherwise the gardener’s entire life consists of making the most beautiful flowers from all over the world bloom. After all, the big spring garden show and charity event is coming up soon. . But then Norma asks her master gardener to take her great-niece Maya (Quintessa Swindell) into his team and train her.

Although the landlady does not speak to Maya for the first few weeks, even though she has not seen her for almost twenty years, Narvel soon recognizes a promising student. While working together in the garden, the young woman and the master gardener, who is twice her age, become closer. Maya has no idea of ​​her new mentor’s secret: he is a former Nazi who is in the witness protection program. But the young woman also has problems: she is addicted to drugs and regularly gets into trouble with her dealer. When she shows up for work with a black eye, it sets in motion a fateful chain of events…

An unlikely love story

With “Master Gardener” Paul Schrader once again tackles his absolute favorite subjects: At the center is a broken character who struggles with the demons from the past and has subjected himself to a strictly regulated everyday life in which everything remains under control – and therefore also Punishment. to stand. Just like ‘Taxi Driver’, ‘Auto Focus’ or the two predecessors of the ‘Man In A Room’ trilogy, ‘Master Gardener’ is a complex reflection on fragile masculinity and the (im)possibility of redemption.

Narvel Roth, who by his appearance alone elevates Joel Edgerton to a multi-dimensional figure with the best performances of his career, is a former neo-Nazi whose body is completely covered in SS symbols. The fact that he doesn’t have them removed has something to do with the control this man has committed himself to as an act of self-flagellation. Every time he looks at his naked body in the mirror, Narvel does penance – for himself, for the world, for the dead because of him.

‘Master Gardener’ is again inspired by biblical and religious elements, but deals with these aspects mainly on a spiritual level – which in the case of Paul Schrader also raises ethical questions. Above all, it is the handling of the protagonist’s redemption that once again confronts the audience in an extremely subtle way with the question of whether he has really reached a point at the end where he can find inner peace. In the case of “Master Gardener” – especially in combination with the final shot – you can almost dream of hope.

The fact that Paul Schrader is repeatedly accused of problematic female characters has to do with reading those characters. It’s often said that the director of “American Gigolo” only has women in his films because they have to help the male lead achieve redemption. In “Master Gardener,” the subtly drawn relationship between Narvel and Maya finally makes it clear: in Paul Schrader’s cinema, women do not help men achieve redemption. You ARE salvation.