_Posthumous_ is a slight but charming romantic comedy by
the Chinese-American filmmaker Lulu Wang. So far it is
her only feature, but one hopes that changes very soon.

Jack Huston is struggling Berlin artist Liam Price. He
is mistakenly declared dead and the value and prestige of
his art work suddenly skyrockets. McKenzie Grain
(Brit Marling), whose boyfriend works with Price's
agent Daniel (Lambert Wilson), suspects a hoax. She
is a struggling free-lance writer; when she meets
Price trying pass himself off as the artist's brother
she stalks him and breaks into his studio. Aided by
the charm of the city, and soul-baring dialogs,
Price turns her from adversary to friend to romantic
equal.

Huston is full of gusto as the passionate, eccentric
artist. This is Marling's comedy debut, unless you
count the TV series "Babylon." The actress can be
trusted never to take on a mere girlfriend role, and
while she doesn't break much ground in the comedic
sequences, she has great timing. As usual though, she
impresses most in the dramatic showpieces. Director
Wang gives her room and time to react; it is a rare
treat to see someone actually thinks and slowly makes
up her mind as scenes unfold.

As in _Berlin Syndrome_, the city is a mesmerizing
supporting player. Wang makes wonderful use of the
citiscape, using magnificent lighting in outdoor
scenes, and takes full advantage of more obscure
points of interest, like an observatory taken over
by graffiti artists and an oversized bench in a
park. These scruffy bohemian locales mixed with
the= more familiar, clean well-lighted landmarks
(the Spree river walks and Alexanderplatz) makes
for an intoxicating fun and vibrate backdrop.
Berlin is one of my favorite cities -- I can't
think of any movie that flatters the place quite
like _Posthumous_. Cinematographer Stefan Ciupek
deserves a special mention.

Wang must be an expert in modern art (which I'm
not). Price's artwork looks very convincing, his
Basquiat-like portraits amplified by bright,
life-sized sculptures. Even the songs are unusually
good for an independent film. Wang is compared
with Woody Allen in the few reviews that took
note of her feature; in my view, none of the
recent Wood Allen "Europe" film entries are
remotely as fresh, unforced, and charming as
this film.

(Next up -- _Violette_, finally, 9 months since
I saw the film.)

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