Western (2017)

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Movie
Original title Western film
Country of production Germany ,
Bulgaria ,
Austria
original language German ,
Bulgarian ,
English
Publishing year 2017
length 120 minutes
Age rating FSK 12
Rod
Director Valeska Grisebach
script Valeska Grisebach
production Jonas Dornbach ,
Janine Jackowski ,
Maren Ade ,
Valeska Grisebach ,
Michel Merkt ,
Borislav Chouchkov ,
Viktor Chouchkov jr. ,
Bruno Wagner ,
Antonin Svoboda
camera Bernhard Keller
cut Bettina Boehler
occupation
  • Meinhard Neumann: Meinhard
  • Reinhardt Wetrek: Vincent
  • Syuleyman Alilov Letifov: Adrian
  • Veneta Fragnova: Veneta
  • Viara Borisova: Vyara
  • Kevin Bashev: Wanko
  • Aliosman Deliev: Mancho
  • Momchil Sinanov: Mancho's grandfather
  • Robert Gawellek: Tommy
  • Jens Klein: Jens
  • Waldemar Zang: Boris
  • Detlef Schaich: Helmuth
  • Sascha Diener: Marcel
  • Enrico Mantei: wool
  • Gulzet Zyulfov: Gulzet

Western is a German - Bulgarian - Austrian co-production from 2017 . The premiere of the under the direction of Valeska Grisebach incurred feature film was on 18 May 2017 the section Un Certain Regard of the 70th International Film Festival of Cannes . In Germany, the film was shown at the Munich Film Festival on June 29, 2017 . The cinema release took place in Germany on August 24, 2017, in Switzerland on September 7, 2017 and in Austria on November 3, 2017.

action

A group of German construction workers are supposed to build a hydropower plant in a remote area on the Bulgarian-Greek border near a small village , for which a river has to be diverted. An EU infrastructure project that everyone knows about - except the locals. The construction work is not particularly well prepared and will soon stall as a result. As a result, there is more intensive contact with the local population; Both groups - German construction workers and locals - speak poor English and try to communicate with one another through gestures.

First of all, the construction crew is exposed to the distrust of the locals and their own prejudices. The conflict over encroaching on regional ecology also contributes to this, as water is scarce in the area and the construction of power plants is making the situation worse. A duel for the recognition of the village community develops between the construction manager Vincent and his colleague Meinhard. Meinhard approaches the village community and is well received by the village chief Adrian, but also by some women. Vincent fears that Meinhard could dispute his supremacy.

production

The shooting took place from July to September 2015, the shooting took place in Bulgaria in the village of Petrelik in the municipality of Hadschidimowo in Blagoevgrad Oblast and in Germany. The film was supported by the Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg , the Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung , the German Film Funding Fund , the Bulgarian National Film Center and the Austrian Film Institute , and the ZDF and ARTE were involved . The film was produced by the German accomplices Film , co-producers were the Bulgarian Chouchkov Brothers and the Austrian coop99 . Beatrice Schultz was responsible for the production design, Veronika Albert for the costume design and Uve Haußig for the sound. After Mein Stern (2001) and Sehnsucht (2006), it is the third feature film by Valeska Grisebach.

The film was released on DVD in 2018 as part of the Edition Österreichischer Film von Hoanzl and the Standard .

Festivals (selection)

Awards and nominations (selection)

reception

Bert Rebhandl said in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung : “Meinhard Neumann […] or the great Syuleyman Alilov Letifov […] are what one would misleadingly call amateur actors . You are essentially playing yourself, in a physical presence that locks up everything that requires a certain sense to be understood, a seventh sense if you will. [...] A sense that relies on reaching people and things if you only take your time. Every minute of the film you can see the patience that the production has put in. "He judged:" 'Western' is one of the best - and most beautiful - German films in a long time because it is located on the borders of Europe for the whole world opens. "

Hannah Pilarczyk wrote on Spiegel Online : “With her, German construction workers become cowboys on the edge of Europe: Valeska Grisebach only very rarely makes films. But when they do, they will be delightfully beautiful - like their latest western . [...] It may not sound like the most beautiful German film of the year, but it is Western . "

Katja Nicodemus judged at the time : “The fact that you feel the existential loneliness of these men just as physically as the oppressive heat over the valley or the coldness of the beer cans chilled in the river is due to the special aesthetics and style of the story. It is commonplace, archaic and mythical at the same time: impressively composed landscape images meet a precisely developed dramaturgy. And the enthusiasm of the non-professional actors merges with the artistic artificiality that a film called Western needs. "

Hanns-Georg Rodek described the film in the daily newspaper Die Welt as “the most beautiful male film of the year” and found that it was many things at the same time: “a contemporary Euro-Western, an exploration of masculinity in our time, an experimental arrangement for the encounter with something Foreign, a clash of cultures in a united Europe. "

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Approval certificate for Western . Voluntary self-regulation of the film industry (PDF; test number: 170268 / K). Template: FSK / maintenance / type not set and Par. 1 longer than 4 characters
  2. Western. In: filmportal.de . Deutsches Filminstitut , accessed on August 27, 2017 .
  3. Western in the Internet Movie Database (English)
  4. Western. In: Austrian Film Institute . Retrieved August 27, 2017 .
  5. derStandard.at: The STANDARD edition "The Austrian Film" is now an impressive 310 pieces . Article dated October 12, 2018, accessed October 13, 2018.
  6. Ludwigshafen Prize goes to two films . Article dated September 16, 2017, accessed September 16, 2017.
  7. ^ "Western" wins Günter Rohrbach film award . Article dated November 3, 2017, accessed November 4, 2017.
  8. Günter Rohrbach Film Prize 2017 goes to "Western" ( Memento from November 4, 2017 in the Internet Archive ). Article dated November 3, 2017, accessed November 4, 2017.
  9. ^ "Western" was awarded the German Film Critics' Prize ( Memento from February 20, 2018 in the web archive archive.today ). Retrieved February 20, 2018.
  10. Nominations for the German Director Award METROPOLIS 2018 . Article dated September 21, 2018, accessed September 21, 2018.
  11. ^ Tromsø International Film Festival: The Aurora Prize . Retrieved May 21, 2019.
  12. ^ FAZ: Video film review for "Western": On the trail of the stones . Article dated August 23, 2017, accessed August 27, 2017.
  13. ^ "Western" by Valeska Grisebach: Wonderful borderline experience . Article dated August 25, 2017, accessed August 27, 2017.
  14. Man, work, longing . Article dated August 23, 2017, accessed August 31, 2017.
  15. A "Western" in the East. About Valeska Grisebach's new film. Trailer & review; - WORLD . Article dated August 25, 2017, accessed August 27, 2017.