Hundstage (2001)

Director:

Ulrich Seidl

Writers:

Veronika Franz (writer)
Ulrich Seidl (writer)

Release Date:

9 November 2001 (Italy)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

In a suburb of Vienna during some hot summer days: A teacher who is in bondage to a sleazy pimp, a very importunate hitchhiker...

Plot Keywords:

Hitchhiker | Summer | Oral Sex | Despair | Explicit Sex

Awards:

7 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Maria Hofstätter	...	The hitchhiker
Alfred Mrva	...	Security Guard
Erich Finsches	...	Old Man
Gerti Lehner	...	Housekeeper
Franziska Weisz	...	Young Girl
Rene Wanko	...	Friend
Claudia Martini	...	The Ex-Wife
Victor Rathbone	...	The Ex-Husband
Christian Bakonyi	...	Masseur
Christine Jirku	...	Teacher
Viktor Hennemann	...	The Lover
Georg Friedrich	...	The Lover's Friend
Ingeborg Wehofer	...	Car accident victim
Leopold Schlol	...	Car scratch victim
Silvia Piglmann	...	Car scratch victim

Also Known As:

Dog Days (International: English title) (UK)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong sexual content, nudity, language and some disturbing behavior/violence.

Runtime:

121 min | UK:127 min

Country:

Austria

Language:

German | Turkish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Certification:

USA:R (cut) | Australia:MA (TV rating) | Finland:K-18 | Argentina:16 | Singapore:R21 (cut) | Australia:R | Canada:R | France:-16 | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:III | Netherlands:16 | Norway:18 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | UK:18 | USA:Unrated | Italy:VM18

Filming Locations:

Vienna, Austria

Company:

Allegro Film

Trivia:

Second in the poll for FIPRESCI GRAND PRIX OF THE YEAR 2002.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: At the beginning of the movie in front of the supermarket the boom mic and the camera are reflected in a car window.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Böse Zellen (2003)

The truth is always reasonable, or is it?

Trailers of this movie may show scenes of violence or non mainstream sexuality, but these scenes are just rare fragments, picked out to attract audience. They are, of course showing the main message of the movie:

People who are constantly kicked on their heads in their jobs and lives, using power, which they may have somewhere else, to notoriously oppress others. And at the low end of the oppression chain, mostly women.

A movie showing this as brutally as Hundstage is surely tough to face, but having to endure such lives, is even tougher.

Technically the film is much like Short Cuts, but consisting of documentary style episodes, featuring people like your neighbour, playing just the way they are. Without any glitter, and most disturbingly, without any hope. Its documentary style makes the movie even more disturbing, because you realize, such people are out there, and there are many of them, although our society focuses on the nice exterior looks. Somewhere the porn industry has to do its business, somewhere unreported domestic violence has to take place, somewhere hopes have to shatter. I sure do know such people.

If you want to see a movie without any funny scenes (some may think the handicapped woman repeating the top ten supermarkets is funny, but this happens for real) and without any melodramatic, go watch this movie. However it will lose when you are focusing on subtitles I fear, as subtitles can´t transport accentuation.