Errors of the Human Body

The feature directorial debut of German filmmaker Eron Sheean is an exploration of the hidden codes that make up the human body. It is a dissection of the repercussions that any sort of experimentation and tampering can have, regardless of the intentions. Appearing to tip its hat to Daniel Keyes’ 1958 short story, ‘Flowers for Algernon’, Errors of the Human Body examines the moral and ethical dilemmas that continue to plague the human condition.

In a lab, within the town of Dresden, Germany, a young scientist Geoff Burton (Michael Eklund) becomes part of the quest for the gene linked to regeneration. Granted, the subtext of immortality is a similar one explored by artists for centuries, but this story is more complicated than just cheating death. Burton is a damaged man, lost in his own torment and unexpectedly part of a bigger experiment.

A slow burning film with a subtle sting in the tail, Sheean’s protagonist becomes more and more paranoid and more entrenched in the hunt for this essence of impossibility. His past, a haunting personal nightmare that (without spoiling the central idea), we only see in fragments, reveals his inner turmoil and explains his presence at the lab. This is not only a search to understand death, but also a search to understand birth.

Michael Eklund’s detached and distant performance fits subtly into the haunted role he is playing. He has an interesting manner and as his torment increases, there is a distinct nod to Cronenberg’s 1986 film, The Fly and Jeff Goldblum’s sad Seth. The stand out performance for this reviewer, however, was Burton’s scientific rival, played by the scene-stealing Tómas Lemarquis (Noi the Albino, 2003). His skull-like presence is actually part of the motif knitted into the film by Sheean. His character is controlled and disturbing without resorting to any form of hyperbole. It also has to be said that the bleak Dresden winter setting is a character itself. The city’s iced concrete and steel surfaces resonate with the clinical look of the sterile lab it houses.

The metaphoric and physical imprint of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein continues to echo into the 21st century. It seems an endless starting point to be tapped by artists and filmmakers the world over. While there may be as many misses as hits in terms of what has been created previously, Errors of the Human Body is closer to a hit than a miss. A strangely engaging tale of mortality and the consequences of interfering with the natural order of life, Eron Sheean’s first feature film establishes him as a director of interest for the future.

Errors of the Human Body
Directed by Eron Sheean
Written by Eron Sheean and Shane Danielsen
Featuring Michael Eklund, Karoline Herfurth, Tómas Lemarquis and Rik Mayall
Germany, 2012, 100 min

Brisbane International Film Festival
14 – 25 November