Les héritiers

An extended demonstration that proletarian struggle is as likely in the pastures as in the steelworks. We side with the peasants as they first feel their way into owning the means of production, then fight the hovering capitalist class as they snipe from the sidelines. A bucolic fantasy overtaken by a sobering chill and a sickening end.

When a farmer is murdered he unexpectedly wills his farm and all his belongings to his 10 peasants, 7 of which decide, even more unexpectedly, to keep the farm and try to run it themselves despite the scorn and outrage of the "legitimate" farmers. Thus, they become the "one-seventh farmers" in this second feature length movie by prominent Austrian writer/director Stefan Ruzowitzky. A beautifully made movie about class struggles, injustice and vain arrogance (among other things), Die Siebtelbauern is also not a film that unravels the way you'd like it too (thus, it isn't really for everyone). This is quite a bleak film, but it is also extremely engaging as you truly feel for the characters, who were all wonderfully acted. Also serving the film perfectly is its beautiful music, consisting mainly of haunting piano pieces which set the tone very well. Most amusing of all is a well-made nod by Ruzowitzky to First Blood (aka the first Rambo movie) towards the end of the film, which you're likely to appreciate if you've seen said film. All in all, while it isn't essential viewing, this is a splendidly crafted little film, very engaging, beautiful, realistic and dark, and at least on par with Ruzowitzky latest, the Oscar-winning WW2 prison film Die Fälscher (The Counterfeiters).

I increasingly find myself tending to veer away from the more commercial mainstream cinema in an effort to find films which have a story to tell. Catherine Deneuve's comments at this year's `Mostra' are still ringing in my ears – i.e. she complained of Hollywood cinema being dominated by special effects and hardly any story to go along with. I heartily agree; thus it was with expectancy I watched the Austrian-German production of `Die Siebtelbauern'. On the whole I would say the result was satisfying – perhaps not great cinema, but at least an interesting tale unfolds in an atypical circumstance. The fable leaves you with some philosophical points to ponder.

Seven workers on a farm, including even illiterates among them, inherit the farm the rich landowner leaves them at his death. Happy-go-lucky simple peasants begin to have problems in life, which previously they had never had, both among themselves and with other landed gentry of the district.

Considering that many of those taking part in the film are not really professional actors anyway, one should allow certain weaknesses to be overlooked: the story is intriguing, the photography is wonderful, and I at last find an anchor-base from which to be able to comprehend Erik Satie's music with an element of background reality, however allegorical it may be.

Well worth a watch, especially if you are not expecting highly-polished glamorous film-making; on the other hand, I would more highly recommend the Italian film `L'Albero degli Zoccoli' (1978) directed by Ermanno Olmi: a poetic rural tale with genuine amateur actors – an exceptional film.

The Inheritors (Die Siebtelbauern), as I remember it, was amusing and also thought-provoking about general socio-economic changes of the past two centuries or so that today many people in Western countries probably take for granted. Perhaps in vague way, it reminds me of an allegory such as Orwell's Animal Farm in the sense of seeing political theory in an intimate, emotional story rather than in some abstract manifesto.

While the film might not be the most "profound" work of art ever made, it nevertheless deserves a viewing. I say it is quite entertaining and in short, thumbs up.

This film is extremely well paced and beautifully photographed, and the characters are easy to relate to. Seven peasants unexpectedly inherit the farm on which they work after the farmer dies. The neighboring farmers view this as a breach of the rigid class structure in rural 19th century Austria and try to destroy the "One-Seventh Farmers." The tenacity with which the new owners defend their farm (and one another) is very touching. I loved it!