Komm, süsser Tod

In my comment on "Der Überfall" I cheered because I hadn't seen such a creative Austrian movie for some years.

Surprise, surprise! Two days before Christmas, "Komm, süßer Tod" opened in our theatres, another film with Josef Hader, but this time they tried something we rarely see in Austrian cinema: a literature film, based on one of the bizarre crime novels from the Brenner series by the young author Wolf Haas. And I didn't believe my eyes: The characters and the language are typically Viennese, but in spite of this the film is suitable for international success! Camera work and editing are professional, there are emotions in the film (which is also rare in Austria), still it's not sentimental, and the cast was so perfectly selected that the unrealistic use of some actors from Germany who were presented as Austrians is not too disturbing. Josef Hader found his star role in the laconic former policeman Brenner who works in one of two competing rescue services in Vienna. Nina Proll and Barbara Rudnik are wonderful but not excessive actresses and Karl Markovics is absolutely present in every single of the few scenes he appears in.

I saw the movie with a friend who only said: "Well, it's just a crime film." Of course, you can't expect any deepnesses; the movie is only cool, entertaining, humorous, gripping (my hands were sweating towards the end) and likeable also for its local colour.

Wolfgang Murnberger who is known for rather depressing background descriptions ("Ich gelobe") could have made a mess out of the material but he took it seriously and so he succeeded. I suppose it was a good idea to let Hader and Haas co-write the script.

Despite the title, Austrian film is not going to die - it lives! and this film shows it again.

Being based on an excellent book, which also won the German Krimipreis 1999, it gives an great film, whereas the satire and sarcasm even gets better in the film. 100% black humour and 100% real, life can't be any more bizarre or funny as in this story of a former detective, now ambulance driver, trying to find the murderer of a nurse and later a fellow ambulance driver.

The cast contains some of the best Austrian comedy actors, especially actress Nina Proll shows once again her young talent. Karl Markovics acts best of all these people with the more serious and deep-minded character of the wheelchaired former angel of death.

Can you understand Austrians? Can you understand Germans? Well, I'm a German and I have problems to understand the Vienna dialect presented in this great murder mystery. But reading the subtitles you hopefully understand the all black humor behind it and the joy the actors take from it. And it's such a terribly suspenseful storyline! Well, I did not only laugh out loud many times, I really learned something of my neighbor country which I usually perceive to be so similar to us Germans, but indeed now I better understand that there are not only small differences, they are really originals themselves and this was a great lesson to learn.

Next to great actors I would like to point out that "Sofa Surfers" provided an extremely useful soundtrack to increase the suspense. This cooperation was used again for the new movie Silentium, the new murder mystery written by author Wolf Haas. This one is even darker than "Komm,süsser Tod" (translates something like "Come, sweet death" -J.S. Bach Choral) and I would warn the audience if they have problems to deal with the realism in this one already - it may not be a lot of fun for you then....it might be your next nightmare!