Joanna and Helene get together, and at first things seem as normal as an open bottle of wine and aimless conversation might suggest. Soon enough, however, the rising tension betokens the suppression of a secret. Shot in but a few very long takes, this experimental film presents a uniquely penetrating and sensitive exploration into the characters’ very core.
While Joanna heads over to her friend Helene’s house for a chat, the latter is feverishly cleaning her apartment and giving Wolfgang the bum’s rush over the phone. The women open a bottle of wine and are conversing noncommittally when one of them is overcome with desperation. After an inconspicuous and innocent beginning, it’s time for a grand revelation – and afterward perhaps even long-awaited relief. The women’s real-time conversation isn’t the only stylistic quirk of this experimental and extremely raw picture. The filmmaker penetrates to the very core of the wounded character, although his style, dominated by a leisurely zoom shot stretched to several dozen minutes, could engender complete detachment. Thanks to the formal approach employed, director Wüst changes our opinion of the characters while, at the same time, heightening our ability to perceive the environment that surrounds them. In addition, a thoroughgoing intimacy permeates this bold film, allowing the viewer not only to understand the trauma in question but, indeed, to experience it.
75 min / Color, DCP
International premiere
Director Ludwig Wüst
/ Screenplay Ludwig Wüst, Claudia Martini
/ Dir. of Photography Klemens Koscher
/ Editor Samuel Käppeli
/ Producer Ludwig Wüst, Matthias Reiter-Pazmandy, Anne de Boismilon
/ Production film-pla.net
/ Cast Claudia Martini, Martina Spitzer
/ Contact sixpackfilm
Ludwig Wüst (b. 1965), Austrian screenwriter, director, and producer, hails from Bavaria but has lived in Vienna since 1987. He studied acting and singing at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna. While in Frankfurt and Berlin he directed for the theater; in Leipzig and Vienna he directed opera. His raw picture Koma (2009) provoked great interest and was shown at countless film festivals. Selected filmography: Egyptian Eclipse (Ägyptische Finsternis, 2002), Two Women (Zwei Frauen, 2006), and Tape End (2011) – an hour-long film in just one shot. The short film PASOLINICODE 02112011 (2012) premiered exclusively over the internet. His previous film, My Father’s House, was presented as an international premiere at KVIFF 2013.
sixpackfilm
Neubaugasse 45/13, 1070, Vienna
Austria
Phone: +43 152 609 900
E-mail: [email protected]
Brigitta Burger-Utzer
Distributor, Sales Agent
Ludwig Wüst
Film Director
Claudia Martini
Actress
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