The Fatherless (Die Vaterlosen)

Year: 2011
Country: AUSTRIA
Run Time: 104 minutes

Twenty years after the disbanding of the commune where they grew up, four dissimilar siblings descend on the decaying Austrian villa they used to share. Their charismatic but aloof father Hans has just died and, as they return to pay respects, their long-simmering resentments of him and each other bubble to the surface. Niki has become a bourgeois doctor, while his brother Vito clings tightly to the commune's ideals of freedom. Mizzi suffers from a neurological condition caused by a mysterious childhood trauma. Kyra was banished from the commune with her mother for an unknown reason. As the siblings work through the chaos of their childhood—depicted in muted flashbacks—old secrets come out and passions are resurrected. A powerful debut film with a strong ensemble cast, THE FATHERLESS questions whether a utopian community, where adults pursue their own freedom while abdicating responsibility for their children, can produce an emotionally stable next generation. (In German with subtitles) –B.B.

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