Film review: 'Hannah'
Buoyed by one nifty title character, "Hannah", an offbeat political thriller from Reinhard Schwabenitzky ("An Almost Perfect Affair"), emerged as a certified crowd-pleaser at the recent Nortel Palm Springs International Film Festival, where it received its U.S. premiere.
Austria's Oscar submission for best foreign-language film, the caper stars Schwabenitzky collaborator Elfi Eschke as an irrepressible publicist who lands a dream job at a toy company only to uncover some nasty neo-Nazi activity lurking just beyond the shelves full of cute dolls and teddy bears.
The film should do some solid art-house business once it lines up a domestic distribution deal.
Eschke's Hannah Fischer is a zaftig dynamo with a strongly independent spirit who manages to pleasantly take others aback with her no-nonsense approach to life. One such admirer is Wolfgang Heck (August Zirner), the handsome junior executive director of the Hochstedt Co., where Hannah has just secured a director of marketing gig.
Unfortunately, just as their little love affair blossoms, Hannah inadvertently discovers that the prominent toy company is actually a front for a faction of racist extremists headed up by Heck's uncle (Jurgen Hentsch) and father (David Cameron). Sharing her discovery with a newspaper reporter friend (Max Tidof), Hannah, herself the child of a Jewish parent, soon finds herself embroiled in political intrigue with wide-reaching ramifications.
Schwabenitzky's script (co-written by Susanne Ayoub with an assist from Jonathan Carroll) runs the gamut from snappy romantic comedy to dark political thriller. And while the gear-shifting goes relatively smoothly, it's still a bit of a leap, particularly when it reaches its cautionary-tale, anti-fascist finale. Nimbly keeping it all together is Eschke, an actress who alternately manages to convey a earthy joie de vivre and a deep-seated melancholy with the blink of an eye. An ideal match, both actress and character are richly deserving of a return engagement.
Other performances are also strong, highlighted by love interest Zirner's portrayal of an executive whose charming demeanor is masking a troubling secret; and Hentsch (also seen during the festival in the powerful "The Deathmaker") as the toy company's cold-blooded commander.
HANNAH
Star Film
Director Reinhard Schwabenitzky
Screenwriters Susanne Ayoub,
Reinhard Schwabenitzky
Based on a story by Reinhard Schwabenitzky
Additional dialogue Jonathan Carroll
Director of photography Fabian Eder
Production designer Kuly Sander
Editor Ingrid Koller
Costume designer Suzie Heger
Music Hannes M. Schalle
Color/stereo
Cast:
Hannah Fischer Elfi Eschke
Wolfgang Heck August Zirner
Dr. Thomas Hochstedt Jurgen Hentsch
Helge Hochstedt Paul Herwig
Elisabeth Hochstedt Helma Gautier
Rose Hochstedt Else Quecke
Pollak Max Tidof
Heck David Cameron
Running time -- 118 minutes
No MPAA rating...
Austria's Oscar submission for best foreign-language film, the caper stars Schwabenitzky collaborator Elfi Eschke as an irrepressible publicist who lands a dream job at a toy company only to uncover some nasty neo-Nazi activity lurking just beyond the shelves full of cute dolls and teddy bears.
The film should do some solid art-house business once it lines up a domestic distribution deal.
Eschke's Hannah Fischer is a zaftig dynamo with a strongly independent spirit who manages to pleasantly take others aback with her no-nonsense approach to life. One such admirer is Wolfgang Heck (August Zirner), the handsome junior executive director of the Hochstedt Co., where Hannah has just secured a director of marketing gig.
Unfortunately, just as their little love affair blossoms, Hannah inadvertently discovers that the prominent toy company is actually a front for a faction of racist extremists headed up by Heck's uncle (Jurgen Hentsch) and father (David Cameron). Sharing her discovery with a newspaper reporter friend (Max Tidof), Hannah, herself the child of a Jewish parent, soon finds herself embroiled in political intrigue with wide-reaching ramifications.
Schwabenitzky's script (co-written by Susanne Ayoub with an assist from Jonathan Carroll) runs the gamut from snappy romantic comedy to dark political thriller. And while the gear-shifting goes relatively smoothly, it's still a bit of a leap, particularly when it reaches its cautionary-tale, anti-fascist finale. Nimbly keeping it all together is Eschke, an actress who alternately manages to convey a earthy joie de vivre and a deep-seated melancholy with the blink of an eye. An ideal match, both actress and character are richly deserving of a return engagement.
Other performances are also strong, highlighted by love interest Zirner's portrayal of an executive whose charming demeanor is masking a troubling secret; and Hentsch (also seen during the festival in the powerful "The Deathmaker") as the toy company's cold-blooded commander.
HANNAH
Star Film
Director Reinhard Schwabenitzky
Screenwriters Susanne Ayoub,
Reinhard Schwabenitzky
Based on a story by Reinhard Schwabenitzky
Additional dialogue Jonathan Carroll
Director of photography Fabian Eder
Production designer Kuly Sander
Editor Ingrid Koller
Costume designer Suzie Heger
Music Hannes M. Schalle
Color/stereo
Cast:
Hannah Fischer Elfi Eschke
Wolfgang Heck August Zirner
Dr. Thomas Hochstedt Jurgen Hentsch
Helge Hochstedt Paul Herwig
Elisabeth Hochstedt Helma Gautier
Rose Hochstedt Else Quecke
Pollak Max Tidof
Heck David Cameron
Running time -- 118 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 2/11/1997
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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