Light (2017)

Movie
Original title	light
Country of production	Austria , Germany
original language	German , French
Publishing year	2017
length	97 minutes
Age rating	FSK 6 JMK 10
Rod
Director	Barbara Albert
script	Kathrin Resetarits , based on the novel by Alissa Walser
production	Michael Kitzberger , Wolfgang Widerhofer , Nikolaus Geyrhalter , Markus Glaser , Martina Haubrich , Gunnar Dedio
music	Lorenz Dangel
camera	Christine A. Maier
cut	Niki Mossböck
occupation
Maria Dragus : Maria Theresa of Paradis ("Resi") Devid Striesow : Franz Anton Mesmer Lukas Miko : Resi's father, Joseph Anton Paradis Katja Kolm : Resi's mother, Maria Rosalia Paradis Maresi Riegner : Maid Agnes "Agi" Stefanie Reinsperger : Cook Johanna Susanne Wuest : Virgin Ossine Christoph Luser : Count Pellegrini Johanna Orsini-Rosenberg : Mesmer's wife, Maria Anna von Posch Lukas Watzl : soul man Martina Spitzer : Miazl Margarethe Tiesel : Marquise Theresa Martini : Catherine Zwelferin

Licht (also: Mademoiselle Paradis ) is an Austrian - German co-production by Barbara Albert from 2017 . The screenplay by Kathrin Resetarits is based on the novel In the Beginning was the Night Music by Alissa Walser .

action

The film is set in the Rococo style in Vienna and tells the story of Maria Theresia von Paradis , known as Resi, who has been blind since she was three . She is known in Viennese society as a piano prodigy. After several incorrect medical treatments, she was entrusted by her parents to the controversial miracle healer Franz Anton Mesmer in 1777 . In the Mesmer's house and in the company of other sick people, she befriends the maid Agnes.

Because of Mesmer's treatment, Resi is actually slowly beginning to see again, which leads to uncertainty among the Viennese medical community and to intrigues against Mesmer. However, Resi notes that as her eyesight increases, her virtuosity as a pianist decreases. She is therefore brought back from the Mesmer house by her father. Resi loses her eyesight again, but regains her virtuosity.

production

Barbara Albert (center) and part of the film team at the Viennale 2017

The shooting took place in April and May 2016, and the shooting took place in Vienna , Lower Austria and Germany. Filming locations included Ernstbrunn Palace , Juliusburg Palace and Loosdorf .

The film was supported by the Austrian Film Institute , the Vienna Film Fund , Filmstandort Austria, the State of Lower Austria , the Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg , the FFA Film Funding Agency, the Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung , MEDIA and Eurimages , with ORF , ZDF and Arte involved .

The film was produced by the Austrian Nikolaus Geyrhalter Filmproduktion , co-producer was the German LOOKSfilm (producer Gunnar Dedio ). Katharina Wöppermann was responsible for the production design, Veronika Albert for the costume design and Dietmar Zuson for the sound .

publication

The feature film premiered on September 8, 2017 as part of the Toronto International Film Festival 2017 , where the film was invited to the Platform competition . At the Festival Internacional de Cine de San Sebastián , the film was invited to the main competition for the Golden Shell .

The film was shown in Austria on October 21, 2017 at the Viennale . The film was released in Austria on November 10, 2017 and in Germany on February 1, 2018. The ORF premiere of the film was on March 24, 2019, and the film was broadcast on Arte on April 29, 2020.

criticism

In Die Welt, Cosima Lutz praised the delicacy with which the film "interweaves its story in terms of motifs on all creative levels, without ever sinking into baroque decor". Not least thanks to careful sound design, light “creates a sensual encirclement of the invisible”.

According to Andrey Arnold in Die Presse , the film, which strives for authenticity, clearly refers to the present with its "criticism of a patriarchal world characterized by blatant inequalities, gossip and an addiction to recognition". His greatest strengths were “the edgy sovereignty” of Devid Striesow and Maria Dragus, who “left an inimitable stamp on the film with nervous facial expressions and erratic body language”.

The musicologist and journalist Wolfram Goertz condemned the film as a "wig drama with a maximally mature tremolo", which pretends to be "a 'pathetique' of profundity" which "eventually tires".

Festivals (selection)

• Toronto International Film Festival 2017 - Competition Platform
• Festival Internacional de Cine de San Sebastián - Golden Shell Competition
• Internationales Filmfestival Mannheim-Heidelberg - Section International Independent Cinema

Awards and nominations

As part of the Austrian Film Prize 2018 , the film was nominated in a total of fourteen categories and in five categories (best female supporting role for Maresi Riegner , best camera for Christine A. Maier , best costume design for Veronika Albert , best mask for Helene Lang and best production design for Katharina Wöppermann ) excellent.

Kathrin Resetarits was awarded the Thomas Pluch Script Award 2018. As part of the 2018 Romy Awards , Christine A. Maier was nominated for light in the category Best Picture Design Cinema Film .

At Diagonale 2018, Niki Mossböck was awarded the Diagonale Cut Prize.

The German Film and Media Assessment (FBW) in Wiesbaden awarded the film the rating of particularly valuable.

Web links

Commons : Light (Mademoiselle Paradis)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Mademoiselle Paradis in the Internet Movie Database (English)
• Mademoiselle Paradis website for the film
• Light (Mademoiselle Paradis) on the LOOKSfilm website
• Light on the websites of geyrhalterfilm.com
• Light at filmportal.de
• Light at crew united

Individual evidence

1. ↑ light. In: Filmdienst . Retrieved January 26, 2018 . 
2. ↑ Age rating for light . Youth Media Commission .
3. ↑ geyrhalterfilm.com: light . Retrieved August 5, 2017.
4. ↑ NÖN: Film Prize 2018: 14 nominations for “Light” from Lower Austria . Article dated December 12, 2017, accessed December 12, 2017.
5. ↑ light. In: Austrian Film Institute . Retrieved August 5, 2017 . 
6. ↑ ^{a b c d} Vienna Film Fund: Light . Retrieved August 5, 2017.
7. ^ ^{A b c} Barbara Albert with "Light" in Toronto and San Sebastian . Article dated August 4, 2017, accessed August 5, 2017.
8. ^ Diepresse.com: Viennale program: 14 films for the late Hans Hurch . Article dated August 25, 2017, accessed August 26, 2017.
9. ^ "Light": ORF premiere on the diagonal. In: ORF.at . Retrieved July 3, 2020 . 
10. ↑ https://www.buchreport.de/news/mit-licht-kommen-alissa-walsers-debuetroman-ins-tv/
11. ↑ Cosima Lutz: "She's not beautiful, but she can play" , Die Welt , February 2, 2018
12. ↑ Andrey Arnold: Film review "Light": From darkness to light and back , Die Presse , October 20, 2017
13. ↑ Wolfram Goertz : Maria Theresia Paradis - the imagined healthy woman , Rheinische Post , February 1, 2018
14. ^ Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung: Internationales Filmfestival Mannheim-Heidelberg . Article dated November 9, 2017, accessed November 10, 2017.
15. ^ Kurier: Austrian Film Prize: Albert's "Light" the big favorite . Article dated December 6, 2017, accessed December 6, 2017.
16. ↑ Austrian Film Prize 2018: Prize Winner . Accessed January 31, 2018.
17. ↑ Thomas Pluch Screenplay Awards 2018 ( Memento from March 16, 2018 in the Internet Archive ). Retrieved March 16, 2018.
18. ↑ Thomas Pluch Script Award 2018: Nominations / Jury / Award Ceremony . Retrieved March 2, 2018.
19. ^ Kurier: ROMY Academy: It's about the best of the best . Article dated March 3, 2018, accessed March 3, 2018.
20. ↑ orf.at: "Murer" and Geyrhalter-Doku get main prizes ( Memento from March 17, 2018 in the Internet Archive ). Article dated March 17, 2018, accessed March 17, 2018.
21. ^ Film: Light. In: German Film and Media Assessment (FBW) . Retrieved September 14, 2019 .