It seems it might be easier if the borders between serious and crazy, reality and fantasy, and life and art were more rigid, strict and visible. On the other hand, a lack of surprises would make both art and life more predictable and less interesting. These are some of the topics that Austrian actor-turned-filmmaker Gerald Pribek deals with in his feature debut, Im Haus der alten Augustin, which might seem modest in terms of its production values, but is actually very ambitious when it comes to crossing the borders between genres and offering a social commentary. The film has just premiered in the fiction competition of the Diagonale.

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It is the year 1986 in rural Austria, and our protagonist, Albin (played by the filmmaker himself), is basically a ne’er-do-well slacker who poses as a local artist, spending most of his time drinking and provoking reactions from his friends on the “scene”, as well as the regular people he sees as the audience. The first blow he is about to receive is the fact that his princess-like girlfriend Ida (Lisa-Carolin Nemec, glimpsed in Katharina Mückstein’s L’Animale [+lee también:
crítica
tráiler
entrevista: Katharina Mückstein
ficha de la película]) cannot tolerate his shenanigans any more and is about to leave him. The second is the realisation that his preferred genre of naturalism has been considered dead for almost a century.

That is the point when a fellow naturalist, a mysterious man named Herbert (Thomas Erlmoser), briefly appears in his life and scares him both with his authentic “artistic craziness” and with a comment about Ida: apparently, he remembers her coming to piano lessons as a child, which took place in a house on the edge of town where he used to live. Unfortunately, Herbert is soon killed in a railway accident, leaving Albin with two tasks: to try to make up with Ida, which might not be so easy, given that her influential father and avid hunter Dr Hampapa (Clemens Aap Lindenberg) could never stand him; and to try to investigate Herbert’s past and his connection to her family. The secrets once buried deep down surface, and the key to understanding them may lie in the titular house…

Im Haus der alten Augustin starts off as a breezy mix of romantic comedy, and family and relationship drama, but progressively turns into a neo-noir and mystery-thriller. The resolution might seem a bit of a stretch, but the journey leading up to it is more than satisfying. Fuelled by secrets, which are the staple of the genres the film dabbles in, it also says a thing or two about Austrian society in general. The devil is in the detail, and the choice to set the movie during the year of Kurt Waldheim’s election as chancellor is no coincidence.

Filming a period piece on a modest budget is no easy task, but Pribek manages this in a creative manner by playing multiple roles. Apart from writing, directing and starring in the film, he also serves as its co-editor and production and costume designer, channelling the punkish, DIY energy further highlighted by the sound design and music choices of his friend and collaborator David Hebenstreit. Cinematographer Dymtro Yamkovyi is often under pressure to perform in terms of channelling the 1980s style, which sometimes plays out in an uneven manner, but the gripping story full of curveballs, the smooth transition through the genres, the natural chemistry among the cast members and Pribek’s steady-handed control over the whole thing make Im Haus der alten Augustin a raw gemstone that might just need a little bit of polishing to qualify as an impressive debut.

Im Haus der alten Augustin is an Austrian production by Ellly Films and Gerald Pribek Produktion.