Heimkehr der Jäger (2000) Reviews

• Rage against the Machine

  nbott2001-09-04

  Our hero artist has a problem. He can not deal either with his wife or the modern world. He slowly lashes out and the results are both destructive, strangely liberating and redeeming. A beautifully crafted film that tells a compelling story of a sensitive artist. As a member of the audience, I could sympathize with his anger at the slow destruction of that which has been. In one scene in the movie, we see him trying to get used to the idea of shopping in a modern supermarket after always getting his vegetables at a small store. He needs these for an artistic project we see throughout the film. Later, he revisits the store and the results are terrifying. The acting by Ulrich Tukur is marvelous. He conveys the artist's slow burning anger with amazing ability. He is so angry that he can not really appreciate the love that finally finds him. I saw this film at a series entitled, "Landscapes of the Soul", at the National Gallery of Art. If you can find this film in your area, I would suggest you check it out.

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• Unusual but great

  totallyandrea2003-11-14

  It's a film that you have to watch again and again to understand it. It's a black comedy about a man who get easily irritated by small things. I love the scene where he's walking in this small street and he sees the same sticker in every walls and doors and gets violent and ended up tearing off one of them off. Ulrich Tukur is a brilliant actor, totally convincing and no one could've done it better than him. I'd love to see more of his work! It's not your typical film. It's very witty, smart and yet unusual. I was asking myself why the characters barely talk. 6.5 / 10

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• Twice

  Mort-312002-10-21

  I had to watch this movie twice in order to understand it, but then I liked it. Franz the copyist reminded me of Michael Douglas's character in Falling Down. He is a man easily irritated by very small things and becoming considerably violent therefore. Director Michael Kreihsl is very creative in finding such small irritators (like the engine of a bus that disturbs Franz when he sits on a chair in the middle of the street), and these things are not as absurd as they might sound. They exist in our lives but we tend to ignore them. As it is also a film about art, you may sometimes unexpectedly recognize paintings of famous Dutch painters `re-staged'. Julia Filimonow is a very tense actress who provides the biggest minus of the film. Many other actresses, who are young and pretty as well, could have done better in this role. Ulrich Tukur does not get utterly absorbed in his character either. He didn't use the thankful role to the full. But – as he doesn't have to talk a lot – he is okay as a quixotic innocent soul. Heimkehr der Jäger is a cold film about people with closed minds. They don't allow their emotions to come through and don't let others (including the audience) feel them. But Heimkehr der Jäger is also a witty film about the decline of culture in society. Watch it – twice!

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• A film like a painting - great!!!

  uta-32001-03-07

  This is a film about still life painting, and it is an interesting, somewhat strange, very black-humoured and lovable film, not like much I've seen before. Ulrich Tukur's performance is fantastic as a painter whose quiet world is falling apart. Probably "Heimkehr der Jäger" won't be shown in many theatres, being an Austrian film and by no means a mainstream movie, but if you like strange, quiet films and get the chance to see it, see it!

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