Der Trafikant

"The Tobacconist" (2018 release from Austria and Germany; 114 min.) brings the story of Franz, a 17 yr. old kid in Austria. As the movie opens, Franz's dad is swimming in the nearby lake but fatally struck by lightning. Franz's mom decides to send Franz to an acquaintance in Vienna who runs a tobacco and newspaper shop. The shop is frequented among others by a Nazi sympathizer but also by "the Professor", being Sigmund Freud. Franz is interested in Freud's practice. Meanwhile in a parallel story, Franz meets the girl of his dreams, a Bohemian called Anezka.... At this point we are 10 min. into the movie but to tell you more of the plot would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.

Couple of comments: this movie is directed by well-know German TV director Nikolaus Leytner. Turns out this is a bit of a problem, as the movie indeed feels very much like made-for-TV. The acting is awkward (you can practically hear the director go "and... ACTION!" The script (based on the novel of the same name, which I haven't read) is incredibly poor. And what should feel like a tense movie (with the worsening conditions due to the looming Nazi regime) is simply not there. But the worst of all is the imaginary bond that develops between Sigmund Freud and Franz. I feel bad for Bruno Ganz, a gifted actor (playing the role of Freud), but he has nothing to work with. Franz's dream sequences (which Freud then interprets) are laughably simple. I'm sorry that I don't have better things to say about this film. The bottom line is that this film is just plain boring and that at no time did I feel any emotional or other investment in any of these characters.

"The Tobacconist" opened out of the blue this past weekend at my local art-house theater here in Cincinnati. The theater strictly follows COVID-19 guidelines. Not that it mattered as the Sunday early evening screening where I saw this at turned out to be a private screening: I was literally the only person in the theater. In any event I cannot recommend this film to anyone in good conscience. Of course, if you have an interest in Sigmund Freud or in Vienna's waning pre-WWII era, I encourage you to check it out and draw your own conclusion.