With little budget (as the Austrian movie "industry" unfortunately has) obviously a director has to walk with different shoes than Hollywood. "Antares" is a good example of how to make the best of it.
In my point of view very often certain narrative concepts become so much in the thick of things, that characters turn secondary (I don't mean to say I don't like pictures which walk that way). IMO it is refreshing to see movies which succeed not to abstract too much, movies which do not take away too much from their characters because for example various storytelling concepts are requiring it.
With "Antares" for ~115minutes you get insight into various living conditions in Austria before something crucial happens. You see how people are, what their main problem is. And yes of course there is a clear idea behind this picture, but as I said before this idea is not imposed on the viewers. Solitude and isolation are crucial topics in "Antares". The entanglement of life's is another.
No doubt in a way several directors in this world have dealt with these very human aspects already. Only I haven't seen any other dealing with it in such genuineness like Spielmann - especially I haven't seen many other films from my country which managed to do that !
In a short: Authentic and real characters. Terrific writing and terrific acting. I especially enjoy the cynicism.All adds up to a real good austrian movie.
