Stefan Ruzowitzky, Austria | Germany | Luxembourg 2021
Intrigue twists and turns until suspense bursts in director Stefan Ruzowitzk’s intricately sinister storyline that scrutinizes the hostile biases, prejudices, and attitudes slithering behind the facade of decency, as protagonists probe a series of murders. Astounding, extremely effective production values demonstrate clever, artistically creative use of filmmakers’ tools.
The Great War’s ended; the Empire’s collapsed. 1920. Vienna, Austria, reels from the developing republic’s political, societal upheaval. Hallow-eyed, gaunt, worn-out prisoners of war return from Russia amongst teeming dockside throngs and cacophony of unfamiliar sounds. After seven years, Peter Perg’s (Murathan Muslu) hometown feels alien as he herds his small group through controls prior to dispersing; Peter heads home. The building’s caretaker says Peter’s wife and daughter fled to the countryside long ago. Meanwhile, Polizeirat Renner (Marc Limpach) ascertains Perg’s whereabouts; ignoring subordinate Paul Severin’s (Max von der Groeben) objections, Renner requests the former detective’s help. Young coroner Theresa Körner (Liv Lisa Fries), remembering Perg’s venerable reputation, willing collaborates. The enigmatic deaths mount. Perg’s acuity returns, along with a foreboding it’s personal. Any payoff’s disconcerting, and dangerous; nothing’s what it seems.
Murathan Muslu and the cast’s outstanding performances resonate against HINTERLAND’s grimly skewed, bizarre settings, murky lighting and tones and camera angles demonstrate protagonists’ psychological damage, and the country’s turmoil. Robert Wiene’s 1920 silent film masterpiece, THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI’s influence is noticeable. CALIGARI, epitomizing German Expressionist cinema, influenced emerging filmmaking genres worldwide.
Filmed predominantly with blue-screen technology, production values brilliantly merge to depict that discombobulated world. At 99 minutes, the last section needed more time for a revelatory, balanced finale.
HINTERLAND centers on a historical period when, as a country’s morals hemorrhaged, people scrambled to redefine ethical positions. Significantly, Muslu’s mesmerizing central performance ensures audiences see/understand Perg’s elemental understanding, reasoning, and, redeemable compassion and hope reemerging from the hinterland of his war-torn mind. )