---
title: "Afire"
year: 2023
kind: "film"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/afire"
fi1m_id: "afire"
imdb_id: "tt26440619"
tmdb_id: 900379
wikidata_id: "Q116621601"
fi1m_score: 79
critics_score: 71
critics_reviews: 12
published: "2026-09-10"
updated: "2026-09-18T08:38:05.563413+00:00"
region: "BG"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Afire (2023)

Directed by Christian Petzold · 1h 43m · Drama, Romance, Comedy

## Identity

Afire

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/afire
- **Type:** Film
- **Fi1m ID:** afire
- **IMDb ID:** tt26440619
- **TMDB ID:** 900379
- **Wikidata ID:** Q116621601
- **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt26440619/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/900379, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q116621601

**Fi1m score: 79** · Critics 71 from 12 reviews

*In a sentence:* A novelist too busy sulking about his second book to notice the forest is on fire

> Christian Petzold’s summer-house comedy about a novelist who cannot stop wrecking his own holiday is the funniest film he has made and one of the sharpest. Thomas Schubert makes Leon unbearable and then pitiable; only the graver last act wavers.

## Synopsis

Leon, a novelist with a second book due, and his friend Felix, a photography student, drive out to Felix’s family’s summer house near the Baltic coast. The car breaks down in the forest, so they walk the last stretch with their bags, and arrive to find that Nadja, a young woman who sells ice cream in the nearby town, is already staying there. Felix goes swimming and works on his portfolio; Leon sits at the kitchen table with his manuscript and refuses to. A lifeguard called Devid joins the household, and Leon’s publisher, Helmut, is due to visit and read the book. Meanwhile forest fires are burning inland, and the smoke is getting closer.

## Review

Christian Petzold, whose last two films *Transit* (2018) and *Undine* (2020) were cool, exact and haunted, has made a comedy. Leon (Thomas Schubert), a novelist with a second book due, and his friend Felix (Langston Uibel), a photography student, drive out to Felix’s family’s summer house near the Baltic. The car dies in the forest. They walk the rest of the way, and when they arrive somebody is already living there. *Afire* is the funniest thing Petzold has made and one of his sharpest, and only in its last movement, when the summer turns grave, does it lose a little of its footing.

The joke, and the film, is Leon. Schubert plays him heavy and sulking, shirt buttoned in the heat, at the kitchen table with a manuscript called *Club Sandwich* that he will not let anyone read. Asked to come swimming he says the work will not allow it, and then does no work. He hears Nadja (Paula Beer) through the wall at night before he has seen her, learns she sells ice cream in the town, and decides what she is on the strength of that. We laughed at him a great deal in the first half hour, and then caught ourselves, because we have sat at that table and refused that swim, and Petzold knows it.

Beer plays Nadja with amusement rather than patience. She watches Leon make his mistakes and lets him finish making them, which is crueller than correcting him and much funnier. Uibel gives Felix an easy warmth; his portfolio is portraits of people at the shore, first from behind looking at the water and then turned to face the camera, and it is a better idea than anything in Leon’s book. Enno Trebs is Devid, the lifeguard from the beach, whom Leon files as a fool and who turns out to be nothing of the kind.

Hans Fromm shoots the summer plainly: hard bright daylight on the pines, the sea a flat blue, the house in warm wood. Klaus-Dieter Gruber’s interiors are small and shared, with walls thin enough that everyone hears everything, which is the engine of half the plot. Katharina Ost puts Leon in dark trousers and a black shirt while the others are in swimwear, so he looks like a mourner at a picnic. The fire is a plume on the horizon, then a helicopter, then a fine grey ash settling on the garden table, then a sky that goes red at night. There is no score to speak of. One melancholy pop song plays, and plays again, and by the third time it has changed its meaning.

Then Helmut arrives. Matthias Brandt plays Leon’s publisher as a kind, tired man who has read a great many manuscripts and knows within a page what he is holding. The scene in which he reads while Leon watches his face for a verdict is the film’s best, and we found it hard to look at. Bettina Böhler holds on Leon’s face a beat longer than is comfortable. Brandt says almost nothing about the book, and Leon hears all of it.

The last stretch is where the reviews part company, and where we part a little with the film. The fire comes closer and the film turns serious, and Petzold handles the turn with a device we will not describe, one that comes close to explaining what we have just watched. It is done with taste and it is moving in places, but the comedy had been telling us the same things more lightly and better. Leon is also a great deal to spend 103 minutes with, and some viewers will have had enough of him by the hour. That is a fair response, and the film has courted it.

Set against *Barbara* (2012) or *Phoenix* (2014), this is looser and warmer and has more people laughing in it, and Petzold turns out to be good at that too. See it with someone who has ever tried to write anything, and watch them shift in their seat when Leon says the work will not allow it. It runs 103 minutes and carries a 12A.

*Fi1m score 79, published 10 September 2026.*

## What the critics say

Most critics like Afire, and the praise gathers around two things: Thomas Schubert’s performance as Leon, the sulking, self-absorbed novelist at the centre, and Petzold’s turn towards comedy. Review after review notes that this is funnier than his recent work, a comedy of manners and social embarrassment with a tragic undertow, and several call it his most accessible film. Schubert’s hangdog scowl is singled out repeatedly, as is the barbed interplay between the four housemates and the way the forest fires creep in from the edges of the story.

The reservations are fewer and mostly concern tone. The Guardian finds the film tonally wayward, never quite landing its comedy or its later seriousness, and HeyUGuys thinks it regrettably small, with a lead too insufferable to spend an evening with. Slant Magazine is the lone outright dissenter. The spread is otherwise narrow: nearly everyone settles on firm approval, and the argument is whether an unlikeable protagonist is a risk that pays off or a chore.

## Straight answers

**Is Afire worth watching?**

*Afire* is worth watching for anyone who has ever tried to write anything and would rather laugh at the trouble than weep over it, and we scored it 79. Thomas Schubert's sulking novelist is the film's joke and its point, though some viewers will have had enough of him by the hour, and the graver last stretch loses a little footing.

**How long is Afire, and what is it rated?**

*Afire* runs 1h 43m. It is a drama and romance film.

**Where can I watch Afire in Bulgaria?**

*Afire* is not on any streaming or rental service in Bulgaria at the moment. It is available in 24 other countries; change your country at the top of the page to see where. Availability is checked daily.

**How violent or frightening is Afire, and is it suitable for children?**

*Afire* is a 12A and contains almost no violence; it is a summer-house comedy about a novelist wrecking his own holiday, not a thriller. The forest fire stays on the horizon for most of the film and turns serious only late on, and there is nothing here to frighten a teenager, though younger children will find little to hold them.

**How does Afire compare to The Souvenir?**

*Afire* and [*The Souvenir*](https://film.one/film/the-souvenir) are both about young artists who cannot yet see past themselves, but Christian Petzold plays it for comedy where Joanna Hogg plays it for pain. Petzold's is the lighter and, we think, the sharper of the two; Hogg's is the more intimate, and the better choice for anyone who wants a first romance taken seriously rather than laughed at.

**What should I watch after Afire?**

After *Afire*, try [*The Souvenir*](https://film.one/film/the-souvenir) (2019, Fi1m 84): Joanna Hogg on a young artist who cannot yet see past herself. Then [*Wonder Boys*](https://film.one/film/wonder-boys) (2000, Fi1m 82): Michael Douglas cannot finish his second novel either, and is better company.

### Reviews we read (20)

- **Variety**, Guy Lodge (Critics Pick): The critic deems the film superb and smoldering, praising its wincingly well-observed and acidly funny take on creative insecurities. It singles out the deft tonal swerves that connect the relationship dynamics with elemental concerns. [Read](https://variety.com/2023/film/reviews/afire-review-1235531817/)
- **Little White Lies**, Marina Ashioti (4/4/5): The critic praises the film’s lighter, funnier pivot from Petzold’s recent work, capturing a sensual summer Rohmerian vibe with literary references. It offers a compelling study of creative anxieties, subjectivity, and superiority/inferiority complexes. [Read](https://lwlies.com/reviews/afire)
- **Vulture** (80/100, inferred): The film is a beguilingly funny affair about getting in one's own way, following young people vacationing against a backdrop of disaster. It offers a piercing image of being young in a world on fire through a memorable rooftop scene. [Read](https://www.vulture.com/article/afire-review-being-young-in-a-world-on-fire.html)
- **The Guardian**, Peter Bradshaw (60/100, inferred): The critic finds the film an approachable but tonally wayward tragicomedy that fails to fully deliver on its comedy or later seriousness. They single out Thomas Schubert’s strong, hangdog performance as the miserable writer Leon for praise. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/feb/22/afire-roter-himmel-review-useless-author-comedy-drama-in-saga-of-angst-and-lust)
- **Slant Magazine**, Pat Brown (1/4): Afire is an often comic but serious-minded study of a creative mind stuck in self-centered neutral, capturing complex human interactions with clear-minded sobriety. It builds from a hangout comedy into a slow-motion conflagration offering no easy answers. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/afire-review-christian-petzold/)
- **Los Angeles Times**, Justin Chang: The critic describes the film as superb and one that burns fiercely, focusing on the exasperated young writer’s mesmerizingly punchable scowl. It singles out the barbed character interplay, sharply chiseled performances, and the story’s accessibility and thematic resonance. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2023-07-12/afire-review-christian-petzold-paula-beer-thomas-schubert)
- **RogerEbert.com**, Glenn Kenny: The critic finds the film an entirely engrossing drama centered on a peevish young novelist whose flaws drive much of the story. It singles out the exceptional performances, particularly by Schubert and Beer, for praise alongside the literate dialogue and emotional impact. [Read](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/afire-movie-review-2023)
- **Screen Daily**: The critic notes Petzold’s move into wry comedy of manners and social embarrassment with more laughs than usual, alongside a brittle character piece and tragic undertow. It highlights a superb lead performance and positions the film as one of his most accessible works. [Read](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/afire-berlin-review/5179546.article)
- **Sight and Sound**: The critic highlights Petzold’s shift toward humor and satire in this study of a pretentious, insecure writer falling in love. It makes a grand statement about love’s devastating power while skewering the protagonist’s fragility and self-pity through sharp character dynamics. [Read](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/afire-christian-petzold-finds-his-funnybone)
- **The Hollywood Reporter**, David Rooney: Petzold examines the insecurities of a male artist in a nimble chamber piece about four people in a seaside vacation home. The initially playful drama grows more somber as it explores growth out of crisis. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/afire-review-christian-petzold-1235331607/)
- **The New York Times**, Manohla Dargis (Critic’s Pick): The critic calls the film a spiky and at times mordantly funny tonic that avoids dull, likable characters. It singles out the boorish yet pleasurably bad-company young writer for its cruel comedy and eventual heartbreak. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/13/movies/afire-review.html)
- **The Times**, Ed Potton (★★★★☆): The review praises the film as witty, sad and surprising, highlighting Petzold’s high-risk choice to centre an unlikeable, misanthropic protagonist and the compelling performance that makes it work. [Read](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/film/article/afire-review-a-dark-german-drama-with-a-compelling-protagonist-0xdqvwx77)
- **The Playlist**, Savina Petkova (85/100, inferred): Petzold builds an original story of twos becoming threes and more in a summer cottage near spreading fires, relying on aquatic imagery and premonitions. It is a cinematic miracle between the burning forest and the sea. [Read](https://theplaylist.net/afire-review-christian-petzold-delivers-a-cinematic-miracle-between-the-burning-forest-the-sea-berlin-20230222/)
- **Deadline**, Stephanie Bunbury (80/100, inferred): Petzold’s film is a droll divertissement and a fable for our times, satirizing the self-absorption of writers and creative artists through the character of Leon. It singles out the precise observation of everyday tensions and minor failures in human interactions for praise. [Read](https://deadline.com/2023/02/roter-himmel-review-berlin-film-festival-christian-petzold-1235267751/)
- **Eye for Film**, Anne-Katrin Titze (80/100, inferred): Petzold delivers his most literary film to date, with elegant voice-over, poetry, and intelligent performances that make it a pleasure to watch. It is a timely German summer movie updating enchanted forest tales amid real-world fires. [Read](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/afire-2023-film-review-by-anne-katrin-titze)
- **/Film**, Ryan Coleman (8/10): Petzold crafts a playful yet complex genre exercise with subtle mirroring, circular dialogue, and a protagonist determined to be miserable. It is a twi sty postmodern fairy tale nested inside a sexy summer romp that will be difficult to top. [Read](https://www.slashfilm.com/1336622/afire-review/)
- **The Skinny**, Eilidh Akilade (★★★★): The critic praises Petzold’s sharp, funny character study of a self-absorbed writer whose pretensions clash with desire and crisis amid forest fires. It singles out the film’s interrogation of the protagonist type, the warm central relationships (especially the friends), and its thoughtful use of sound and comedy in a slow-burn narrative that does not misfire. [Read](https://www.theskinny.co.uk/film/new-releases/afire)
- **Paste**, Jacob Oller (7.2/10): Petzold delivers a blackly funny character study of an unpleasant novelist on a working vacation disrupted by forest fires and an elusive housemate. The careful control allows deep, elegant characterizations to stand out amid the narrative elements. [Read](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/christian-petzold/afire-review)
- **HeyUGuys**, Liam Macleod (55/100, inferred): Petzold examines a narcissistic author ignoring wildfires while fixated on his novel in a shared holiday home. The film is a slow-burner but feels regrettably small, with an insufferable lead. [Read](https://www.heyuguys.com/afire-review/)
- **The Wrap**: Petzold delivers a sophisticated and breezily humorous character study navigating masculine insecurities, personal growth, and the life of a misanthropic writer. It singles out Thomas Schubert’s performance as Leon and the generous humor in the examination of the tortured artist for praise. [Read](https://www.thewrap.com/afire-review-christian-petzold/)

## Details

- **Director:** Christian Petzold
- **Director:** Christian Petzold
- **Writer:** Christian Petzold
- **Cinematography:** Hans Fromm
- **Editor:** Bettina Böhler
- **Production design:** Kade Gruber
- **Costume design:** Katharina Ost
- **Producer:** Florian Koerner von Gustorf, Anton Kaiser, Michael Weber
- **Cast:** Thomas Schubert as Leon; Paula Beer as Nadja; Langston Uibel as Felix; Enno Trebs as Devid; Matthias Brandt as Helmut; Jennipher Antoni as Mrs. Roland, Cashier; Ralph Barnebeck as Police Officer; Esther Esche as Mrs. König, Hotel Manager
- **Runtime:** 1h 43m
- **Release (Bulgaria):** 15 March 2024
- **Genres:** Drama, Romance, Comedy
- **Box office:** $2 million
- **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KzdO_J10kEg

## Where to watch in Bulgaria

Not streaming, renting or buying in Bulgaria at the last check.

Also available in: AE, AT, BE, BR, CH, CL, CO, DE, ES, FI, GB, IE, IN, IT, JP, MX, MY, NL, PH, SG, TH, US, VN, ZA. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## Awards

- Berlin International Film Festival 2023: Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize (won)

## If you liked this

- *Undine* (2020): Petzold and Paula Beer, a year earlier, grave where this one laughs.
- *Pauline at the Beach* (1983): Rohmer’s holiday talkers get everything wrong about each other in lovely light.
- *The Souvenir* (2019), Fi1m 84: Joanna Hogg on a young artist who cannot yet see past herself. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-souvenir.md)
- *Fire Will Come* (2019): Oliver Laxe’s Galician forest burns slowly and nobody says much about it.
- *Wonder Boys* (2000), Fi1m 82: Michael Douglas cannot finish his second novel either, and is better company. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/wonder-boys.md)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/afire