A work of extraordinary beauty – this is one of the most strikingly photographed films of the year – and knotty complexity, The Universal Theory, directed by Timm Kröger, is a somewhat baffling German-language, arthouse riff on the well-worn concept of multiverses. Largely set in the Swiss Alps in the early 1960s, the story unfolds at a physics symposium at a mountain resort, where Johannes (Jan Bülow), a young postgraduate student, hopes to further his career. Instead, he meets Karin (Olivia Ross), an alluring jazz pianist, and stumbles into a mystery involving a network of underground tunnels, radioactivity and duplicate versions of people.
An impenetrable plot doesn’t entirely hold together, but the film is worth a look for fans of wigged-out sci-fi, gorgeous framing and lush, orchestral, Bernard Herrmann-inspired soundtracks.
In UK and Irish cinemas
