Die Siebtelbauern (1998)

Austria, a little farming valley. Beginning of the century. When one of the farmers is found murdered one day, his labourers know of nothing, but are relieved, as the tyranny has ended. ... See full summary »

Director:

Stefan Ruzowitzky

Writer:

Stefan Ruzowitzky

Stars:

Simon Schwarz, Sophie Rois, Lars Rudolph

9 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Simon Schwarz	...	Lukas Lichtmeß
Sophie Rois	...	Emmy
Lars Rudolph	...	Severin
Tilo Prückner	...	Großknecht
Ulrich Wildgruber	...	Danninger
Julia Gschnitzer	...	Alte Nane
Susanne Silverio	...	Lisbeth
Kirstin Schwab	...	Lissi
Werner Prinz	...	Ganders
Dietmar Nigsch	...	Sepp
Elisabeth Orth	...	Rosalind
Christoph Gusenbauer	...	Hirtenbub
Gertraud Mayböck	...	Gertrud
Norbert Perchtold	...	Danninger's Neffe
Michael Popp Kreiner	...	Elefantenwärter

Storyline

Austria, a little farming valley. Beginning of the century. When one of the farmers is found murdered one day, his labourers know of nothing, but are relieved, as the tyranny has ended. Then, something new happens for the first time in history: The farm workers inherit the whole farm together, as the farmer himself was childless. Now, conflicts come up, as nobody is the boss and nobody has to obey.

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Plot Keywords:

farmer | farm | farming | worker | farm worker | 

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Taglines:

Manchmal werden auch die Armen reicher.

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence including a rape, sexuality, and brief language

Details

Country:

Austria Germany

Language:

German

Release Date:

9 October 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

Az örökösök

Filming Locations:

Altenhof, Upper Austria, Austria

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$12,606 (USA) (9 October 1998)

Gross:

$196,452 (USA) (29 January 1999)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR), Dor Film Produktionsgesellschaft, Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min 95 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Lukas: Nobody can beat me up anymore, right?

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Connections

Featured in Ahate pasa (2010)

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Soundtracks

"La donna è mobile"
from "Rigoletto"
Composed by Giuseppe Verdi
Performed by Enrico Caruso

User Reviews

Allegorical peasants tale

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.