THE UNIVERSAL THEORY (DIE THEORIE VON ALLEM) Discovery

In 1974, author Johannes Leinert (Jan Bülow) appears on a German talk show to promote his sci-fi novel “Die Theorie von Allem,” where shadowy Cold War intrigue melds with alternate realities of the multiverse. But instead, Leinert claims his book is fact, not fiction, based on his unpublished doctoral thesis and his own experiences. Cut to 1962, and Leinert’s fantastical tale plays in flashback, beginning with a train journey to Switzerland to attend a physics conference with his stern mentor, Dr. Strathen (Hanns Zischler). En route to the mountain resort they are joined by Prof. Blumberg (Gottfried Breitfuss), an eminent physicist who Strathen seems to bear a grudge against. The conference soon proves to be a dud, but strange goings-on in the hotel intrigue Leinert: a beautiful and mysterious young woman who inexplicably knows things about his past; a bellboy who tells him about secret tunnels and strange doings in the town; and soon, several grisly murders on the ski slopes and the mountain roads. Timm Kröger’s visionary, noirish retro-futurist fable recalls classic suspense films by Alfred Hitchcock and Carol Reed, crossed with the reality-rupturing thrillers of David Lynch and Christopher Nolan. Roland Stuprich’s widescreen black and white cinematography captures the fearsome beauty and sublime otherworldliness of the Swiss Alps; its dreamscape imagery lingers long after viewing this marvelous, mind-bending movie. –Todd Hitchcock