Title: Hundstage
Country: Austria (2001)
Genre: Drama
Director: Ulrich Seidl
Cast: Maria Hofstätter, Georg Friedrich, Alfred Mrva
Plot
A suburb of Vienna during the hottest days of the year: too many people at too narrow space. In six episodes this movie shows how and why people make things very unpleasant for each other. Amongs others there is a very importunate hitchhiker, a private detective on the run for some car vandals, a couple with a serious marriage problem, an old man, whose wife died long before, on the search for some sexual entertainment and further strange people…
Review
I planned to watch this movie since a very long time. After reading about it I became curious. Recently I had the chance to watch it and I must say I was blown away. This movie is one of the most atmospheric and oppressive ones I’ve seen in years. As already sated in the plot it doesn’t have an ongoing story but consists of different episodes which sometimes run together in the course of the story or which are totally independent. Amongst those episodes there is not even one boring one (which often is the case in episode movies). Every one captivates with bizarre characters and a distinct atmosphere. Considering that, the movie perfectly creates an atmosphere of depressing heat, which you can almost feel. This atmosphere is supported by many still camera angles which intensify the dreariness. The actors, which are mainly amateurs, are really doing good. You wouldn’t recognize them as amateurs. However there’s one actress who is stealing everybody’s show. Maria Hofstätter, who is playing the hitchhiker, is giving a very intense performance. She plays a very unbearable person who you can’t be mad with however. Finally I can say that this movie really casts a spell over you and will follow you some time. In my opinion this is what defines a good movie. If you liked it you should also watch “Import Export”, also by Ulrich Seidl, which has a similar concept but takes place in a totally different environment. It’s hard to say which one is better but both are highly recommendable.
