Hier sprach der Preis

“Everything must go”: was ever a notice more peremptory? When she discovers that the German hardware chain Praktiker is closing down, the filmmaker sets off to film the final weeks of the branch in her hometown, Bruchsal. One of the two cashiers, Marina, arranges the flowers next to the “Closed” sign as if she were arranging a vase of chrysanthemums. No need for an explanatory notice as all the titling here is done by Nigel, the specially appointed UK discount specialist. The remaining employees have been asked to go down with the ship—not yet deserted by customers, who see the closure as just another bargain. Punctuated by the repeated blaring of a jaunty jingle and peppered with Nigel’s misspellings on every sign, the comic side is also driven by the way the store empties and seems to devour itself as the workmen disembowel the shelving—a burst of action that defies depression. But this pre-closure countdown goes further than a simple comical chronicle. When the brand’s catchphrase, “The price talks”, takes on a purely mercantile logic (“Here spoke the price” as the title corrects), whole swathes of professional life disappear. Sabrina Jäger’s immense capacity to listen and the absence of any condescension expedite the “price” to its rightful place. The recurrent endeavours to get keys to open the safes, which are on sale but unusable, challenge the possibility of hoarding money without any human assistance. (Charlotte Garson)