Review by the German Federal Film and Media Assessment Board (FBW) Rating: Certified "Highly Commended" (Prädikat Wertvoll) Starting from a frigidly futuristic business setting, an appropriately detached editor gives the chronically underpaid author Claudia the assignment to write five volumes of her sci-fi pulp novels within 36 hours, despite having only three data ports at her disposal. Thus begins a trip…
The Straw That Broke (2021)
Five volumes. 31 hours. One collapsing multiverse.
"The Straw That Broke" is a surrealist, micro-budget meta-fiction feature blending retro-futuristic aesthetics with philosophy to explore the boundaries between reality and the digital realm. "The virtual is viral," announces Clea Bardan, editor at DeBase SF, to Claudia Weiss, her overworked author of futuristic pulp fiction. Clea demands an impossible task: write five volumes within 31 hours. Claudia's journey spans from Stuttgart to Nueva York, a Harkonnen spaceship, and a water-based planet holding the secret to saving the multiverse from the O-Cloud—a virus destroying sentient life at its ontological core. But how much of this reality is authentic, and can a talking mouse from Claudia's own stories save the multiverse? Using diverse cinematic devices, the film tackles deep metaphysical questions while remaining a poignant story about loss, love, and hope for us all.
Top Cast
Robert Besta
Roithammer
Manuel Harder
Markus
Santiago Ziesmer
Encyclopedia Mouse
Claudia Gallatz
Claudia Weiss
Manja Kuhl
Clea Bardan
Konrad Lucas
Flint McCrae
Gabrielle Zimmermann
Dr. Zimmermann
Reviews
Though completed in 2021, *The Straw That Broke* seems very contemporary, maybe even more than it did a few years ago, due to the sudden acceleration of the dangerous dynamics we see at play. The plot is somewhat encrypted, so at times I felt a bit lost, but so is the film’s main character Claudia, a creator of pulp SF virts, video novels in the film’s alternate future. What I liked about the film is the balance…
The planet in the movie *The Straw That Broke* is the kind of “other” world you might find in works by Stanislaw Lem or Philip K. Dick. But the screenplay was written by modernist American writer Tom Whalen and the film directed by German visual artist and filmmaker Valentin Hennig. STRAW, as this film is affectionately known, had a limited released in 2021. Its appearance on YouTube will be a milestone, allowing…
FAQ about The Straw That Broke
What is The Straw That Broke about?
"The Straw That Broke" is a surrealist, micro-budget meta-fiction feature blending retro-futuristic aesthetics with philosophy to explore the boundaries between reality and the digital realm. "The virtual is viral," announces Clea Bardan, editor at DeBase SF, to Claudia Weiss,…
When was The Straw That Broke released?
The Straw That Broke was released in 2021.
What genres does The Straw That Broke belong to?
The Straw That Broke is categorised as Science Fiction.
Who stars in The Straw That Broke?
The cast of The Straw That Broke includes Robert Besta, Manuel Harder, Santiago Ziesmer, Claudia Gallatz, Manja Kuhl.