Hinterholz 8

Whoever is capable of the Austrian version of the German language (dialect) should watch this great comedy! I have laughed tears!!!

DÜRINGER's film makes an excellent introduction to Austrian film. It isn't the greatest movie ever made, but it is just offbeat enough to overcome most of its problems. The movie's ending, which is one of the most original I've ever seen, is alone worth watching.

That's not your typical Austrian comedy (which usually centers on wordplay and/or absurd humour); here the jokes are simple, brutal, sometimes bloody, and most times somebody gets hurt, in spirit if not bodily. It's a nice deviation from the otherwise comparatively safe and unobtrusive world of Austrian TV/cinema co-productions. And while the story goes completely over-the-top (albeit in a foreseeable way), the fact remains that at its heart it's a "true" story in that there really are a lot of families going bankrupt or breaking up while trying for the "Austrian dream", meaning a luxury detached, surrounded by hedges, with a double garage, possibly in the open countryside.

This movie is probably not expecting the audience only to laugh, but also to think. But many of those, who have seen it, did not realise the serious, very realistic background. I would recommend it to everyone, who is thinking of building/buying a house of their own!!! (Think twice before you do it...)

After having seen this movie, I must state that I'm happy I saw the original and not a germanized translation of the Austrian dialect. Although I didn't understand everything - and I surely wasn't the only one who did so - I think that much of the brilliance of "Hinterholz 8" could have been destroyed by a German version. But now: Why is this film so good? The actors' performance, first of all Roland Düringer's, is absolutely perfect. The same applies to his script. The overall story of a happy three-person family who ruins itself completely by trying to restore an old house instead of buying a new one is simply the ideal background for this realistic satire on greasy financial advisors, the village people of Austrian hinterland and other characters. The main difference between this film and crap like "Funny Farm" is that the rapid increase of desperation in the husband's behaviour and the effects on his attitude are presented totally realistically and vividly. Even the surprise ending doesn't seem fictitious but astonishingly understandable. The only critical remark I want to add is about the son's Star-Trek-Mania which brought some good jokes at the beginning but became boring and unrealistic in the end. I also think this fantastic film should have gotten a better final scene.