Luzifer

"Every day we stray further from God's light" may be a 'meme-able' saying, but it is one that is none-the-less true when we look at a mix of contempt and disinterest in institutionalized belief that is more prominent than ever. Yet, the interest in exploring faith through cinema seems ever present as religious horror is still an eminent subgenre - evident from Fantastic Fest screening other religious themed horrors such as Agnes, Exorcism of God and Eyes of Fire. However, Peter Brunner's Luzifer proves to be a unique beast, a dark mediation on religious fervor, isolation and mistreatment of nature.

While the direction and vision of Brunner makes the production a complete success, Susanne Jensen and Franz Rogowski give career defining performances as mother and son. In particular, Rogowski navigates the tricky territory of portraying someone with a severe learning disability, let alone a simple-minded individual managing the complexities of sexual guilt and religious fear. Overall, it is a remarkable performance to witness: the two play off of each other and fully commit to the life of these outsiders.

Deeply engrossing and tragically beautiful, Luzifer is a powerful piece of cinema that begs for a wider audience. Sadly, with the current state of A24-esque productions being considered the peak of arthouse cinema among the masses, productions like this seem more likely to get lost in the hype of other films making the rounds at festival season. Make no mistake, Luzifer is a beautifully realized experience that deserves similar accolades from the 'A24 vibes' crowd - give this one a shot.

The two main actors are tremendous but the material is beyond strange. A mother and son live in a scenic mountain range with spectacular scenery and the cinematography is as good as I have ever seen. They are both bald and the woman is often nude. Ms. Jensen is along in years and the nudity is not a pleasant experience for the viewer. The pair practice what appears to be a mixture of Catholicism(judging by the Rosary beads and images of Jesus and Mary) and some type of nature worship with fire and water. Drones are a frequent adversary as developers are clear cutting the nearby forest and need to move the mountain dwellers for further use of their land. The dialogue is sparse and the final scene bizarre. I cannot recommend this film.

Disturbingly brilliant film, thoughtfully narrating how men not only privatize and destroy nature, but imitate the powers of other animals to rule others. The film puts into perspective how much technological progress is a man-made imitation of God, portraying the Antichrist (Luzifer - the fallen Angel) laughing at him and mocking him.

A man in his thirties, innocent as a child and always obedient to his mother, lives apart from modern society with her in a remote hut in the Alps. An eagle, with its all-seeing eye, is his only faithful friend. As ski resort wants to be built on their land. They could be "rich," but they sense it is a trap and won't give it up at any price. And it gets veeery dark.. dark as in "you want it to end soon" type of film. It's enchanting and horrible.

The film juxtaposes religion as well as technology in a spiritual context as man-made constructs that have been modified to govern over others. A family obedient and devoted to the faith of Christ compete in a non-violent spiritual fashion against human-controlled drones - as in eagles without free will, with brainwashed men behind them, following their masters.

The film is about the constant cicle of abuse throughout the existance of the human being descending from a catholic hegemony. Furthermore portrayed by the reality of the world today, the film depicts a devine surrender to what you believe to be "true".

Although I've witnessed about 30 people walking out of the theatre while watching the films Premiere at the Locarno Film Festival, I feel that the film truly makes great way to generate some really interesting discussions with the audience, uncomfortable as they may be (even if you have them with yourself).

Ulrich Seidl has once again proven that he remained a producer (be it his movies or those of others) which makes films about real people and their real stories. Susanne Jensen (the mother) does a fantastic job in her role. Keep in mind that much of her personal life is fragmented in this picture.

Hats off to Franz Rogowski (main charcter), reminding me of Joaquin Phoenix in Joker as he owns his character so skillful and elgantly (he has an eagle for a friend most of the time).

A deeply poetic film that cripples the belief of our shared cloud of knowledge ( = the Internet ), questioning what we TRULY believe in ( as in our own higher "power").

I thought it would rise to retaliation against outsiders. Unexpectedly, the story continued between mother and son and myself. It was boring and wasted a good theme.

Wild faith in God and very curious drones. An arrhythmically edited tale in the highlands of central Europe. Maria and Johannes struggle. There is too much talk. Silence is rare. And the effect sound and music should be rooted in nature. But the drones add a lot of tension and voltage.

And when the house finally burned down, sure enough he was in it.