Watching this film during this summer on the Austrian channel ORF I had great expectations due to a very catchy, intriguing promo. My already high expectations were not disappointed. It is always great pleasure to see that European cinema constantly produces such almost unknown masterpieces, especially today, when it has become increasingly harder( in 2004, when this film was made or afterward) to stick to the European style.
The plot is, tough not copying Almodovar, an Austrian version of " La Mala Educacion"- both Spain and Austria being traditionally Catholic countries, the various scandals, rumors and ( sometimes unjust) allegations surrounding this powerful institution provide a rich, almost endless material for movies with various approaches of the matter.
Unlike Almodovar's film, this one goes much further in analyzing the multi layered connection between church and secular society and the part these connections play in order to defend its respectable image at all cost.
But just like in Almodovar's film a young man is dubiously silenced( and others even more endangered) as he tries to unveil the abuse he was constantly subjected to while studying in a Catholic school, in this one none else than the son-in-law of the ( fictional, but most likely not too far from real characters) director of the Salzburg theater is mysteriously killed just when he intended to make some uncomfortable confessions from his past which could incriminate some important church officials.
The film starts off with two memorable landmarks of Salzburg- first a cliff with a breathtaking view overlooking the town, from whom the victim is actually thrown and which will play also an important part towards the film's climax( reference to Hitchcock's " Vertigo") and secondly the famous Salzburg theater festival, as the film begins just at the point where that year's edition is marred, almost overshadowed by the murder in the director's family.
This is the moment when the strange, antisocial but honest detective with a shady background Brenner sets in to unveil the truth. He is a former cop, thrown out from active service for undisclosed matters and presently acting on his own, constantly experiencing extreme poverty and social exclusion. It is almost unbelievable to see that Salzburg, a city depicted as quiet and law-abiding can have so many homeless people and poor sections, when it actually seems to small and wealthy, to idyllic to have anyhting else but middle-class, if not richer inhabitants( just like Austria).
He soon discovers that the influential theater director is not interested to solve the case, however his daughter, eager to find the truth about her husband's death urges Brenner to lead an investigation. As Brenner examines the Catholic school where the victim once studies, he soon discovers a complicated network of both heterosexual and homosexual child molesters constantly provided by this institution with fresh"meat" of both genders. Some clients are influential especially one prominent opera singer which looks like a hetero version of Rudolph Mooshammer and even has a taste for rented sex and bizarre fetishes just like the famous fashion designer.
But as the investigation goes on, the Church officials and other mighty figures become worried about the outlandish detective and try to kill him on numerous occasions. Nevertheless, after he is unjustly accused of having killed the roommate with whom he shared a sordid lodging( and, just like in Almodovar's film, the church works extremely efficiently in faking clues, everything pointing at Brenner) he manages to escape narrowly from the same death like the one that started the plot( and from the top of the same cliff). After he kills some employees of that infamous school in self-defense, further investigations are ceased and he has to leave the town temporally. Furthermore, the victim's widow is not eager for justice anymore, accepting the same guilty silence around her, either forced by her strict father or realizing that she's can not fight the system. She is actually one of the most complex characters in the film, torn between her spoiled need for a sheltered life and her desire to look for justice at the expense of respectability.
Subnsequently, the film's title reveals its doublethink or doublespeak meaning: it hints both at the silence required in strict schools during classes, but also the mendacity dominating society's most respectable institutions and most privileged circles.
It's captivating too see that, besides it's typically Austrian, dark humor( e.g. a real, non-fictional village called petting, used here as a pun just like the film's title) how actual the issue can be. That is, in many cases, not just the dishonest corrupt official, but also honest people in traditionally Catholic countries try to cover up such scandals, the latter category so well manipulated that they truly believe in the church's innocence.
Haunting and worth seeing, but also meditating about.
12 out of 13 found this helpful.
Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
