Love can be found in a hopeless place (as the song goes) and nothing is more hopeless than the place where ‘In the Aisles’ is set. Who’d have thought that a supermarket would be the setting of a delicate and innocent love story.
Christian starts work at a supermarket as part of the night team, stocking shelves in the bottles department. He works with veteran worker Bruno, forming a quiet bond of friendship. He falls in love with Marion, a colleague in the sweets section, sharing moments of mutual affection even after he finds out she’s married. Christian lives alone and seems lonely but not in a hurry to create a connection.
Loneliness is ironically the connection between the characters. Bruno is isolated, living on a farm not far from the supermarket. He yearns for his trucker days and the comfort he found in knowing landmarks signalling he was almost home. Marion is married but isn’t happy, at least this is what everyone tells Christian. Christian himself lives alone, avoid his old rowdy friends and doesn’t seem to go anywhere apart from work and his flat. Their conversations are all work related, although sometimes the barrier of silence is broken down and we learn about Bruno’s wife and Christian’s previous job and his days of being in prison as a minor. The images of the individual buildings, looming in the distance and up close, as well as frequent shot of the motorways, exaggerating just how isolated the supermarket is. It feels as if it isn’t really part of the real world. The supermarket has its own little village, helping each other and working as a team. The environment suits Christian who isn’t a talker, he is the definition of the strong silent archetype.
The innocent love story that gently unfolds between Christian and Marion also serves as the lifeblood of the supermarket as various colleagues are aware of both their feelings for each other despite nothing being said with words. Their long looks, stolen glances and small kind gestures make the world of the supermarket bearable and a little brighter.
As a gentle love story and ode an ode to supermarkets, director Thomas Stuber makes the the place of unflattering lighting a beautiful place to be, especially at night. The best scene in the entire film is when Christian, who is learning to drive the forklift, elegantly moves between the empty aisles, at peace and obviously happy and even content in this moment. Not everyone can create such magic in a supermarket.
@BFI