Immer nie am Meer

FOREVER NEVER ANYWHERE (Antonin Svoboda - Austria 2007).

Seen at the IFF Rotterdam, 3 February 2007.

The set-up is simple: Three men get into an accident with their car on a deserted mountain road when they try to avoid hitting a woman who is jogging there in the middle of the night. The car gets off the road, rolls of the mountain until it dashes against a tree. Problem is: they can't get out. The car is an armoured Mercedes, that used to belong to former Austrian president Kurt Waldheim, bought by one of them at a bargain price. But now, the electric doors and windows won't open and they're stuck. Filled with brash and lowbrow humour, and with its single set-up of three men stuck in the small confined space of a car, it's surprisingly entertaining. The film takes an even more bizarre twist when suddenly the three men become the subject of a young boy who starts using these men as live guinea pigs, instead of rescuing them.

Since I couldn't find this one anywhere on IMDb, I gathered it went ahead under a different title, but apparently it was added quite recently under its German title IMMER NIE AM MEER. However, the English title FOREVER NEVER ANYWHERE must be one of the worst I've come across in a long time, but don't let that fool you. This Austrian comedy is good fun and was received with almost constant laughter during its screening in the Netherlands, but festival audiences do tend to be a little more acceptant than most..

With its micro-budget and basically one outdoor location, this film shows that one can make an interesting film when starting with an original idea, convincing acting, humor and some clever plot twists. I had a perfectly good time watching this.

Camera Obscura --- 8/10