KANJI TSODA AND ALADDIN DETLEFSEN IN THE FROG AND THE WATER

THOMAS STUBER: THE FROG AND THE WATER (2025)- BERLIN & BEYOND 2026

Improbable buddies' wordless world

A young German man with Down syndrome, who chooses not to speak, and a Japanese tourist on a journey of his own cross paths in Germany and go on a journey together, forming an unexpected bond that goes beyond words. That is the setup for The Frog and the Water (Der Frosch und das Wasser), the new film from In the Aisles writer and director Thomas Stuber. Georg Szalai wrote in Hollywood Reporter about the film, which features Kanji Tsuda (Onoda: 10,000 Nights in the Jungle) as the austere Japanese man and Aladdin Detlefsen as Buschi, dubbed "Buschi-san" by the Japanese tour group, which sounds like a Samurai warrior name, who has Down Syndrome.

Buschi wanders off when the institution for differently abled people has taken its inhabitants on an outing in Köln, and gets onto a Japanese tour bus headed for Weimar. Nicole Schierloh (Bettina Stucky), who is responsible for Buschi, goes frantically in search of him, but without ultimate success.

The Japanese tour members take a liking to Buschi, and when someone wants to evict him, Hideo (Tsuda) jumps in the way protectively, and they become an odd wordless couple. An origami frm becomes curiously playful and symbolic. The two passports Hideo carries hint gently of loss and a special need apart from others on his tour. When the group is taken to a restaurant, Buschi sits opposite Hideo and imitates his every move. We learned earlier that he can't swim, but he certainly can eat properly. He follows Hideo to his hotel room, and takes off his shoes as Hideo does. What will happen now? The Frog and the Water is a film that plays it by ear, working with nothing to make something, which can be an interesting choice if played right.

But it could have made more. As Cineropa'sr eviewer Davide Abbatescianni says, pushing the "conflictual aspects" of the relationship - as when Buschi plays loud movies on TV when Hideo is trying to sleep in his hotel room , might have revealed a "richer, more textured" relationship, a few more revealing "cracks" in. the story's "fairy-tale facade" without undermining ins underlying "tenderness." And yet, in its overlong runtime, THe Frog and the Water does gesture toward transcendence.

The Frog and the Water/Der Frosch und das Wasser, 100 mins., debuted primarily at Tallinn Black Nights Nov. 19, 2025, also showing at festivals in Germany and Switzerland. Reviewed here as part of Berlin & Beyond. Showtime:
Showtime: Rialto Elmwood, Berkeley – March 23 at 1:45 PM – Buy Tickets

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©Chris Knipp. Blog: http://chrisknipp.blogspot.com/.