This movie has a unique nature, it will move your mood to a different level ,it will ring a lot of bills and it will make you wonder a lot about life.

It starts with a beautiful "Johann Strauss" music, then we will be taken into a journey between the aisles of a supermarket, this journey starts with the process of hiring a new employee "Christian", then the events follow to know more about the routine of the employees and their habits during different occasions.

The performance of the actors is the best here, they look as normal people we see everyday, their reactions are normal or not cinematic so they give you the feeling that anyone of us can be in their places.

The background of each character is introduced in a simple way, and to a sufficient extent.

Most of the events happen in the supermarket, but there are some external scenes. However you may wish that all the events remain in the aisles as they have a unique magic that attracts you.

The movie has a message about life that is delivered in a very simple way, but not all of people may catch it in the first time.

The directing added a lot to the nature of the movie, there's a great attention to details and this is clear in the connection between the final scene and the scene in the 9th minute.

Finally, if you ever wondered about the life of people in IKEA or any supermarket, then this movie is recommended for you. You may feel it's elongated as two hours movie, but you may wish if it could stay more. It's not boring and rewatchable.

I think it's a very aesthetic representation of life in aisles as in the assembly line (not much different in the cubicles). Didn't feel the darkness was exaggerated. You feel for the characters and then you think of yourself too. And of life today. The store itself is masterfully shot... the tall roofs and small aisles... for those working there, that's the sky and the streets. An existential film!

Needs a bit of existential acceptance to watch such movies. And an eye for the aesthetic... or else one might find it too gloomy. The direction is top notch. And the actors are such a great fit, they look like they actually work there. Marion, just like for the hero, is a welcome sight whenever she is in the frame... and she is used just optimally to make you feel the otherwise dullness of the place and work broken only when she's around. The mentoring relationship is another aspect very well-covered. Just to show that there's always some brightness and some warmth in the darkest and the coldest of places.

In Thomas Stuber's austere drama about the lives of supermarket employees in Germany, Strauss' 'The Blue Danube' conveys the lyrical magic of forklifts skating amidst the vast rows of floor-to-ceiling shelves, paying homage to Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey. Introvert Christian (Franz Rogowski) has a chequered past but finds work as a shelfstacker at a Costco-style supermarket. He's urged to hide his tattoos and wear his name tag to maintain the company's clean-cut image. Assigned to the beverages department, Christian finds a trusty mentor in no-nonsense veteran Bruno (Peter Kurth), who schools him on the politics of 'forklift conflicts' and who patiently trains him to drive pallet jacks in between smoke breaks on the sly.

Christian's first time operating a pallet jack is a wry exercise in slapstick. Possessing a reserved charm, Rogowski makes the meek Christian likeable with a largely physical performance of bashful turns of the cheek, wistful glances and approving nods. Christian's frequent encounters at the coffee machine with Marion (Sandra Huller) from the Sweets aisle sends tongues wagging, but their innocent flirtations barely crack the ice. Upon learning of Marion's martial unhappiness, Christian's wounded vulnerability compels him to self-medicate with alcohol to numb the pain.

Stuber would have done well to play up the romance angle to give his inert film more energy and direction, but that's not the goal here. 'In The Aisles' celebrates the human connections formed in the daily grind of work. Christian and Bruno bond during smoke breaks, looking out to the world beyond from behind a wire fence, with the older Bruno reminiscing of Germany before reunification when he used to drive trucks, recalling the landmarks that were markers that told him home was close. Stuber is careful not to turn it into a battle cry against the collossus of global capitalism, but the bleakness hangs over like a dark cloud nonetheless. 'In The Aisles' handles tonal shifts well, and by adding deadpan jokes to undercut the gritty, urban gloom, its shades of light and dark are sketched with convincing realism; however, more laughs to cut through the grey wouldn't have gone astray.

You can even hear the sound of the ocean if you really live your normal life

The screen play surprisingly won best screenplay awards in Athens and Berlin international festivals ,,, The sad truth is the script is sooo slow ,, spread over two long hours which could have been a really good hour 20 minutes top...

The plot is genuine and somewhat purposeful and kinda sad with its harsh truth at some scenes , but the movie had some gabs and definitely more than few unnecessary dull moments.

The cast was perfect though,, Franz Rogowski was perfect for the role with his weirdness facial expressions and voice and Sandra Hüller I loved her in the Oscar winner movie of 2016 "Toni Erdmann" and here she did well.

final thought,, i watched the whole thing with subtitles so if you speak German you might have enjoyed it better than i did ,, but for its meaningful message i think the movie is somewhat recommended .

If you can't imagine how to make an impressive film out of the everyday life and work of a supermarket staff, you should watch this film. This is of course not inconsiderably due to the two - as always impressively acting - main actors Franz Rogowski and Sandra Hüller (plus a no less brilliant Peter Kurth), but ultimately the decisive factor is the warmth and sympathy with which the writer/director Thomas Stuber draws his characters under the most adverse circumstances (= the monotonous work in this juggernaut of a supermarket with its endless aisles and towering shelves) treating each other warmly and respectfully and occasionally celebrate the small unauthorized freedoms. The delicate bonds between Hüller and Rogowski are so adorable in all their clumsiness and speechlessness, nothing more is wished for them other than the main prize in the lottery and great luck. I don't give away too much, I think - everything will turn out differently, of course, but you will still be able to dream and it is and remains a wonderfully charming film.

The story is built up well. You are put into context for a while before things get going. Some may consider this "slow", but I liked it. Nice storytelling.

I really liked the photography of the film, it was great art!

Very good actors.

Thanks to Franz Rogowski and Sandra Hueller, I trust in every minute of this movie. How hard is to get up. And what happens when you cannot get up. Zero effects. But leaves the deep memories.

The view from the educated middle class on the low-wage sector. Good actors, beautifully photographed. But much too klishee and looked at from the outside.

This was an excellent movie about the importance of comradeship and the dignity of work even in a menial job in the modern mechanized and dehumanized work space. The bonding between an steady older man and a young man with a past trying to find his place with the world was very touching. In that, it reminded me of the excellent movie 'Spring Forward' with Ned Beatty and Liev Schreiber.

The physical setting is fascinating. Our guys stock the shelves of some sort of super grocery store where there are endless aisles and the stacks of crates loom 40 feet up in the air. It's like the warehouse at the end of 'Raiders of the Lost Arc', but it's just a grocery store.

Minor note -- even when the guys dream of leaving the aisles, it's to go to other isles, like Ibiza. But I suppose that's an accident of English, not something intended by the German filmmakers.

The story is nice and the environment of the story is it's key aspect. The characters are unique and nice. The workplace is shown in a well detailed manner and makes you want to work there and be like these normal people in the store.

One might think working in a club warehouse stocking & stacking pallets of goods to feed the consumer market would be menial & trivial, but like all things there lies hidden complexity. To some it's a second chance; to other it's a dead end job (literally). Well acted; engaging. Notes: (a.) I liked the Delta Blues' Son House song's lyrics, "a true friend is hard to find."; "Yes, but bear this in mind." (b.) I wonder to what extent jobs be displaced by robotic cashiers, inventory takers, stackers & pullers? (c.) Sadly, for the environment, I didn't see any indication of recycling or repurposing.of anything.

Been on a recent binge of the great Franz Rogowski films after seen him in the excellent Great Freedom (2021) recently. And while In The Aisles isn't quite at that level of film, it still is such really sweet, funny but also dramatic German rom-com.

Rogowski plays a ex con Christian, a quiet but kind young man with a load of tattoo's that show his past criminal life. You starts new job in Supermarket. He ends up with Bruno (excellent performance from Peter Kurth) in the drink section. But also ends up falling in love with Marion (Toni Erdmann's Sandra Huller) a married woman in a abusive loveless marriage.

The acting is great all round, even the smallest parts are memorable. Huller is really sweet and likeable in a slightly smaller and low key role. If you go in expecting the romance to be front and centre of the film you be disappointed. Huller does disappear for good parts of the film. Which makes the film even more impressive that romance between Christian and Marion is rather sweetly done. Kurth as Bruno, is great as well.

But this is Rogowski film all the way, and he doesn't say much at all. He's basically the German Joaquin Phoenix, not just cause both men have a Cleft Lip. He gives everything to his performances. The scene when he first meets his ex gang matches in the supermarket, that scene really shows his acting talent. Along with the scene at the Christmas work party with Marion.

Again it's a film that's way better then it's 6.9 rating here. I think it's strong film, maybe at 2 hours it's maybe 20 minutes too long, but you forgive the film that as it's got it's heart in the right place.

I have often wondered what happens in supermarkets at night. Who stocks the shelves? What happens to all the food that cannot be consumed? Who are all the people who work there to get things organized? Now I have my answer. And a beautiful one at that. Sometimes gut-wrenchingly sad. Sandra Hüller and Franz Rogowski are outstanding, and Peter Kurth is brilliant. So many emotions, so few words. And I never thought forklifts would engage me so much. Individual stories are stacked onto one another, creating a landscape that breathes with life. Much like the shelves. Somehow it all fits together. The drinks bottles, the coffee dispenser, the candy bars, and the freezer section - all have a role to play in the story. In the hands of Thomas Stuber the story takes on many twists and turns - much like the forklifts winding through the aisles. This has been one of the most surprising and satisfying films I've seen in a while. My supermarket visits will be a whole new experience from this point on.

This movie is so close, from my own experience. Everything is really convincingly acted - the concepts, the atmosphere, the locations, right down to the smallest GDR toggle switch that still ekes out an existence in Bruno's old apartment, Bruno's stories about his old life as a long-distance truck driver and how he comes home to the cigarette factory and looks forward to going home - I've heard all that before from people who also did this job back then. The depressing mood is simply wonderfully realized, how melancholy and terribly dreary life can be when you don't have much left except your job and your colleagues, numbed by everyday life, without much airs and graces until the bitter end. The movie probably speaks from the soul of many. Unfortunately, a pearl among German films that is far too well hidden. Worth seeing.

Interesting premise of a film, undone by low energy of lead actor. Difficult to imagine what the older female lead would see in the new employee who barely speaks throughout the movie. Rest of supporting cast was good. Overall, i recommend viewers take a pass on this one.