Film Review: JAKOBS ROSS: A Tale of Sadness with a Glimmer of Hope Undermined by a Lackluster Plot [Locarno 2024]

Jakobs Ross Review

Jakobs Ross / Songs Within (2024) Film Review from the 77th Annual Locarno Film Festival, a movie directed by Katalin Gödrös, written by Urs Buehler, Ulrike Maria Hund and Silvia Tschui and starring Luna Wedler, Valentin Postlmayr, Eugenie Anselin, Max Hubacher, Luc Feit, Marie Jung, Andreas Matti and Pierre Funck.

From Switzerland comes filmmaker Katalin Gödrös’ slow-moving tale of tortured souls trying to find happiness in their lives, Jakobs Ross. This movie is not going to be much of a pick-me up for the viewer. That much is certain right from the rape scene that occurs in the opening minutes of the film. A good harrowing drama is only as strong as its script and Jakobs Ross has a story line that is essentially threadbare. It can barely sustain a plot that runs half as long as this movie.

Nothing much happens and too many bad things happen to the characters, simultaneously. If it weren’t for the lead performance by Luna Wedler, the movie would have fallen apart in the first half hour. Luckily Wedler’s powerful turn as the lead character, Elsie Huwyler, is strong and has plenty of substance buried within it. There are other characters besides hers here and they only detract from the quality of the movie due to somewhat mediocre performances.

Set in the 19th century, Elsie has aspirations that far exceed her means to achieve them. The creepy Direktor Burgener (Luc Feit) assaults her, leaving her pregnant. With no other options, Burgener gives her to another man to take his burden off his shoulders. That other man is Jakob (Valentin Postlmayr), a guy who has a weird obsession with buying a horse to start a business of his own. Jakob is a bit obsessed with that dream and the interaction between him and Elsie lacks the desired connection to make things work out in a respective manner.

Jakob doesn’t truly seem to love Elsie and uses her to fulfill his own desires. While Elsie could be a dream come true to another man, she’s merely a means to an end for Jakob, if even that. Music drives Elsie’s life and when she meets a man named Rico (Max Hubacher), the doldrums of her everyday existence seem to disappear, if only temporarily. Rico and Elsie seem to have chemistry together and will eventually embrace their physical connection for one another with devastating results.

Rico, at one point, is being pursued by a bunch of inconsiderate men who throw rocks at Rico and what does Rico do? He starts to play his accordion which makes the audience question his sanity. True, he’s madly in love with Elsie but c’mon, he seems like he’s about to get away from these creepy men and then Rico puts himself in even more jeopardy by being a rebel? Did he really love Elsie as much as we thought he did?

Jakob gets his horse at one point, too, but that scenario is made into a cringe-worthy moment within the picture as well. There’s too much despair in this film for a movie that focuses on its female lead’s love for music. That passion should drive the film more than disappointing plot points which make up the majority of the picture that is Jakobs Ross.

Luna Wedler gives the role everything she has and her performance as Elsie will keep viewers watching even when the action is muddled by a slow-moving midsection and a lack of interesting developments within the story. As good as she is, this movie is still a difficult film to watch. Somebody tries to drown a baby at one point and it’s not a pleasant situation to witness. I’ve seen horrifying situations portrayed on-screen before but this film lacks a focal point in a few key moments and the overuse of long shots keeps the audience at a distance from the characters. One scene shows a character sewing and she’s miserable and that’s the feeling I got from the movie overall. Being miserable. That is with the exception of a few key scenes where Wedler lights up the screen.

The chemistry between Wedler and Hubacher could grow on romance fans but even they will be disappointed by the outcome thanks to the gloomy feel of the movie overall. As Jakob, Valentin Postlmayr does the job he was hired to do but the unlikable nature of his character, unfortunately, eventually underscores the quality of the performance.

Though Luna Wedler is nothing short of astonishing here, there’s little going on in this film that made Jakobs Ross move me enough to recommend it. It’s that rare case of a story with a literary pedigree that doesn’t translate well to the screen. This film has garnered some positive feedback so if you’re a fan of the book, by all means, check out the movie if you think it has what you are looking for.

Rating: 5.5/10

Leave your thoughts on this Jakobs Ross review and the film below in the comments section. Readers seeking to support this type of content can visit our Patreon Page and become one of FilmBook’s patrons. Readers seeking more Locarno Film Festival news can visit our Locarno Film Festival Page, our Film Festival Page, and our Film Festival Facebook Page.

Readers seeking more film reviews can visit our Movie Review Page, our Movie Review Twitter Page, and our Movie Review Facebook Page.

Want up-to-the-minute notifications? FilmBook staff members publish articles by Email, Mobile App, Google News, Feedly, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, Pinterest, Reddit, Telegram, Mastodon, Flipboard, and Threads.