#TIFF24 Review: Sad Jokes (Discovery)

By John Corrado

The 2024 Toronto International Film Festival runs from September 5th to 15th, more information on tickets and showtimes can be found right here.

Fabian Stumm is the writer, director and star of Sad Jokes, and he uses his impeccably dry comedic voice to craft a German dramedy that uses long takes to find comic rhythms in everyday interactions that, on the surface, might not otherwise be funny. And it’s often a delight to watch, but with a melancholic twinge hinted at by the film’s title.

Stumm stars in the film as Joseph, who is also a version of himself. Joseph is an openly gay independent filmmaker living in Berlin, who is co-parenting a toddler (played by Stumm’s own son Justus Meyer that he co-parents in real life) with his best friend Sonya (Haley Louise Jones). We first meet Sonya in the throes of a hypomanic episode, having checked herself out early from the mental health institution where she was being treated for depression.

The film unfolds through these sort of vignettes, that are all done in unbroken long takes and medium closeups. It’s an interesting approach that allows each section to play out with its own natural rhythm, as Stumm plays around with awkward moments and drawn out comedic timing. Joseph is working on a script for his next movie; a comedy that might not be very funny, based on elements of his own life, which adds a clever meta bent to Sad Jokes as well.

Each chapter reveals a new wrinkle in Joseph’s experiences as both artist and modern queer man, including the hardships of trying to date as a young parent, while still getting over an ex-boyfriend (Jonas Dassler). The moments that he captures range from deeply comical (early on, Joseph gets his hand stuck in a vending machine) to incredibly bittersweet. All in all, Sad Jokes affirms the arrival of a fresh new voice in Stumm, who crafts a dramedy that walks a tightrope balance between absurdist comedy and something more grounded and sad.

Film Rating: ★★★ (out of 4)