Hierankl

I really had a lot of expectations when I went to see this movie knowing Johanna Wokalek plays the leading role and it also has Barbara Sukowa in it, one of my favorite actresses of the Fassbinder era, and also Hans Simonischek, arguably one of the titans of German language theater. Normally, when expectations run high, the disappointment is big, but this movie really did deliver! The story is intense and very well scripted, acting is superb by the entire cast to the tiniest role. Director Hans Steinbichler, a first-timer, delivered a true masterpiece. Johanna Wokalek who has to carry his movie does it in a sovereign manner! Photography by Bella Hallen is amazing, this is a benchmark achievement and gives a new dimension to what is normally labeled as "Heimatfilm". The landscape, the mountains and hills of Upper Bavaria are photographed in a way that they always reflect the mood of the characters, thus enhancing the story and transport it on a superimposed visual level. Same goes for the music by Anton Gross. They all add up the enhance the increasingly unsettling atmosphere on the remote Hierankl manor and draw you in this story of love, longing, and utter betrayal. I have not seen a movie as good as this one in quite a while! I rated it 10 out of 10.