The Universal Theory Explained

The Universal Theory
Native Name:
Director:	Timm Kröger
Producer:	Heino Deckert Viktoria Stolpe Timm Kröger Tina Börner Lixi Frank David Bohun Sarah Born Rajko Jazbec Dario Schoch
Starring:	Jan Bülow Olivia Ross Hanns Zischler Gottfried Breitfuss David Bennent Philippe Graber
Cinematography:	Roland Stuprich^[1]
Editing:	Jann Anderegg
Music:	Diego Ramos Rodríguez
Production Companies:	Ma.ja.de. Fiction The Barricades Panama Film Catpics AG ZDF/ARTE Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen / SRG SSR
Distributor:	Neue Visionen
Runtime:	118 minutes
Country:	Germany Austria Switzerland
Language:	German French Swiss German
Gross:	$520,243^[2]

The Universal Theory (German: '''Die Theorie von Allem'''|lit=The Theory of Everything) is a 2023 mystery thriller film directed by Timm Kröger,^{[3] [4]} from a screenplay written by Kröger with Roderick Warich.^[5]

The film was selected to compete for the Golden Lion at the 80th Venice International Film Festival, where it premiered on 3 September 2023.

Plot

In 1962, physicist Johannes travels with his doctoral supervisor to a scientific congress in the Swiss Alps. It is there that he meets Karin, a jazz pianist, who is suspiciously knowledgeable about Johannes. A series of mysterious deaths occur at the mountainous site, and the two venture to uncover the secrets hidden below. The story includes an Iranian guest, a strange cloud formation in the sky and quantum mechanics.

Production

The Universal Theory was produced by Germany's Ma.ja.de. Fiction and The Barricades, in co-production with Austria's Panama Film and Switzerland's Catpics AG.^[6] Principal photography began in January 2022 at the ski resort of St. Jakob in Defereggen, Austria. The film was shot in black-and-white using CinemaScope. Filming was projected to wrap at the end of February.

Release

The Universal Theory was selected to compete for the Golden Lion at the 80th Venice International Film Festival,^[7] where it had its world premiere on 3 September 2023. International sales are handled by Paris-based company Charades.^[8] The film was theatrically released in Germany on 26 October 2023 by Neue Visionen.^[9]

Reception

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 79% based on 14 reviews, with an average rating of 6.8/10.^[10] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 63 out of 100, based on 5 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.^[11]

Accolades

Award	Date of ceremony	Category	Recipient(s)	Result
Chicago International Film Festival	22 October 2023	Gold Hugo	The Universal Theory		^[12]
Utopiales	4 November 2023	Grand prix du jury des Utopiales			^[13]
Venice Film Festival	9 September 2023	Golden Lion	Timm Kröger		^[14]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Die Theorie von allem. La Biennale di Venezia. 25 August 2023.
2. 18453866. The Universal Theory (2023). 11 June 2024. yes.
3. Web site: Ritman . Alex . 2023-10-05 . Oscilloscope Acquires Venice Competition Entry 'The Universal Theory' for U.S. (Exclusive) . 2023-10-14 . . en-US.
4. Web site: Kiang . Jessica . 2023-09-03 . 'The Universal Theory' Review: A Sumptuous Homage to Hitchcock Packaged as a Metaphysical Noir . 2023-10-14 . . en-US.
5. Barraclough. Leo. 21 January 2022. First Look: Jan Bülow, Olivia Ross Star in Mystery Thriller 'The Theory of Everything' (EXCLUSIVE). Variety. 25 August 2023.
6. Web site: Shooting for the historical thriller The Theory of Everything starts in Austria. Vena. Teresa. 25 January 2022. Cineuropa. 25 August 2023.
7. Web site: Venice Film Festival Lineup: Mann, Lanthimos, Fincher, DuVernay, Cooper, Besson, Coppola, Hamaguchi In Competition; Polanski, Allen, Anderson, Linklater Out Of Competition – Full List. Tartaglione. Nancy. 25 July 2023. Deadline. 9 August 2023.
8. Leffler. Rebecca. 25 July 2023. Charades, Anonymous Content team on genre-bending Venice Competition title 'The Theory of Everything' (exclusive). Screen International. 4 September 2023.
9. Web site: Die Theorie von Allem. Neue Visionen. de. 4 September 2023.
10. The Theory of Everything. m. the_theory_of_everything_2023. 18 December 2023. yes.
11. the-universal-theory. movie. The Universal Theory. 18 December 2023. yes.
12. Web site: 'Fallen Leaves', 'About Dry Grasses', 'La Chimera' among Chicago fest international line-up (exclusive). Screendaily. 14 September 2023. 23 September 2023. Jeremy. Kay.
13. Web site: Palmarès 2023. Les Utopiales. 5 November 2023.
14. Web site: Venezia 80 Competition. La Biennale di Venezia. 12 August 2023.