Hundstage (2001)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Ulrich Seidl

Writers:

Veronika Franz (writer)
Ulrich Seidl (writer)

Release Date:

9 November 2001 (Italy)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

In a suburb of Vienna during some hot summer days: A teacher who is in bondage to a sleazy pimp, a very importunate hitchhiker...

Plot Keywords:

Summer | Hitchhiker | List Making | Striptease | Violence Against Women

Awards:

7 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Maria Hofstätter	...	The hitchhiker
Alfred Mrva	...	Security Guard
Erich Finsches	...	Old Man
Gerti Lehner	...	Housekeeper
Franziska Weisz	...	Young Girl
Rene Wanko	...	Friend
Claudia Martini	...	The Ex-Wife
Victor Rathbone	...	The Ex-Husband
Christian Bakonyi	...	Masseur
Christine Jirku	...	Teacher
Viktor Hennemann	...	The Lover
Georg Friedrich	...	The Lover's Friend
Ingeborg Wehofer	...	Car accident victim
Leopold Schlol	...	Car scratch victim
Silvia Piglmann	...	Car scratch victim

Also Known As:

Dog Days (International: English title) (UK)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong sexual content, nudity, language and some disturbing behavior/violence.

Runtime:

121 min | UK:127 min

Country:

Austria

Language:

German | Turkish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Certification:

USA:R (cut) | Australia:MA (TV rating) | Finland:K-18 | Argentina:16 | Singapore:R21 (cut) | Australia:R | Canada:R | France:-16 | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:III | Netherlands:16 | Norway:18 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | UK:18 | USA:Unrated | Italy:VM18

Filming Locations:

Vienna, Austria

Company:

Allegro Film

Trivia:

Second in the poll for FIPRESCI GRAND PRIX OF THE YEAR 2002.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: At the beginning of the movie in front of the supermarket the boom mic and the camera are reflected in a car window.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Böse Zellen (2003)

A bleak and at time funny reality

An outstanding film by all accounts. Bleak, yes. Funny, yes. Shocking, yes. To all those reviewers harping on about lack of plot, then surely this is to miss the point. Seidl draws on his documentary background and indeed blends the this with the fictional elements. Do we really need the narrative signposts that we are force-fed in films. Life is not that black and white. I cannot understand the constant desire for fast paced cutting. Go and watch a commercial if you need to but leave the rest of us with well made, insightful films that speak about the bigger issues in life. This is a marvellous film that is disturbing and shocking but not in a gratuitous manner. I think it is in the tiny minutiae of life that these moments are revealed. I found the moment when the couple visit the grave and when the old woman does the striptease to be very moving. You need to look underneath the surface of the characters to see what makes them tick and Seidl has done this. As a result we have complex characters that seem too real for some viewers perhaps to stomach. I should stop defending the film. Just go and see it. Brilliant film-making.