Emma's bliss/Emmad Glück

Directed by Sven Taddicken. Starring Jordis Triebel, Juergen Vogel 15A cert, Light House, Dublin, 99 min

***

IF YOU were feeling mean-spirited, you could criticise this German film for its overly tidy contrivance.

Sven Taddicken's pastoral drama follows Max (Juergen Vogel), an uptight car salesman, as, following a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer, he robs a wad of cash from his boss and drives one of the firm's nicer Jaguars into the countryside. After crashing through a barrier - and experiencing a slow-motion descent to the strains of Zarah Leander's evocative warblings - Max lands in the back garden of a remote farmhouse and is pulled from the wreckage by its eccentric owner.

Emma (Jordis Triebel), a determined woman with the features of a scruffier Ingrid Bergman, is about to be evicted from the premises for non-payment of bills and needs no invitation to grab the stack of euros in Max's glove compartment.

Well, you can probably see where this is heading. The two principals fall in love and, as their contrasting personalities rub against one another, learn a few important lessons.

In less competent hands, Emma's Blisscould be a real groan-inducer, but Taddicken imposes an off-kilter humour on proceedings - think Bill Forsyth in Lederhosen - that never allows the film to drift too far towards the maudlin. The lead performances are excellent, and Triebel in particular combines charm with fury in a combination that should launch her towards future triumphs in the German film industry.

Sadly, the film does once again demonstrate how difficult it is to deal with terminal illness in a popular entertainment. We have, it is true, seen far too many characters dying merrily and symptom-free in contemporary cinema, but Taddicken's (admirable) attempts to depict Max's final decline with a degree of clinical accuracy sit uncomfortably beside the light humour elsewhere.

Mind you, it's not every day you encounter a German film that encourages more than one full- throated belly laugh. Taddicken's film is not quite blissful, but it passes the time better than most.