The Universal Theory (German: Die Theorie von Allem, lit. 'The Theory of Everything') is a 2023 mysterythriller 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. It was theatrically released in Germany on 26 October 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.
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.[5] Filming was projected to wrap at the end of February.[6]
Music
Diego Ramos Rodriguez composed the film's score, with additional music from David Schweighart and Viola Hammer. Oscilloscope Laboratories released the soundtrack in December 2023.[7] A limited edition vinyl was released in August 2024.[8]
Track listing
No.
Title
Length
1.
"Prologue"
3:17
2.
"Departure"
2:24
3.
"The Train to the Alps"
2:12
4.
"In the Chapel"
3:00
5.
"Johanina"
3:26
6.
"Professor Blumberg"
5:20
7.
"On the Ski Slope"
3:59
8.
"Blumberg's Corpse"
4:16
9.
"Interlude - Karin's Theme"
4:28
10.
"Homecoming"
2:07
11.
"Mistrust and Separation"
3:36
12.
"Johnny Shows the Way"
8:33
13.
"Where is Karin?"
7:33
14.
"Under Suspicion"
4:14
15.
"The Chase"
1:27
16.
"Epilogue"
9:28
Total length:
69:20
Release
The Universal Theory was selected to compete for the Golden Lion at the 80th Venice International Film Festival,[9] where it had its world premiere on 3 September 2023.[1] International sales were handled by Paris-based company Charades.[10] In early October 2023, it was announced that Oscilloscope Laboratories had acquired U.S. distribution rights.[3] The film was theatrically released in Germany by Neue Visionen on 26 October 2023.[11] Stadtkino Filmverleih released the film in Austria on 10 November 2023.[12] Filmcoopi Zürich released the film in Switzerland on 1 February 2024.[13]
Reception
Critical response
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 69% based on 26 reviews, with an average rating of 6.6/10.[14]Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 59 out of 100, based on 8 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[15]
