ScreenFish

where faith and film are intertwined

Austria

The Tobacconist – Becoming an Adult

?We?re not in this world to find answers, but to ask qestions.?

Nikolaus Leytner?s The Tobacconist is a tale of looking for love, finding wisdom, and becoming an adult. As with many coming-of-age films there is movement from innocence to facing harsh realities. How one faces such realities has major consequences.

The film opens with 17 year-old Franz (Simon Monz?) sitting on the bottom of a lake. When he sees lightning flashing, he surfaces and runs home through the forest, past his mother and her lover having sex against a tree. Franz climbs into bed to hide. His mother?s lover decides to take a dip in the lake and is struck by lightning and dies. (A bit Oedipal?) His mother sends Franz off to Vienna to apprentice with Otto (Johannes Krisch), her former lover who runs a tobacco shop.

Otto, who lost a leg in World War I, is cynical, especially now that the Nazis have occupied Austria. Otto?s shop is welcoming to all, even Jews and Communists. (Although Otto is somewhat cold to a Nazi customer.) Otto begins to teach Franz about business, and dealing with people. The first lesson is that the shop is more than a place of business, it is a ?temple of pleasure and spirit?. He also begins to help the na?ve Franz see what is happening in the world around him.

One of the customers in the shop is Sigmund Freud (Bruno Ganz). When Franz asks the renown psychologist about love and women, Freud admits to being as confused about that as Franz. But he tells Franz you don?t have to understand water before you jump in to a lake. So Franz heads off to meet a girl and chooses Anezka (Emma Drougunova), a beautiful Bohemian who is a bit older and experienced. When she abandons him after a fun evening, he tracks her down to discover she lives in squalor and is a fan dancer. He tries to kindle a relationship, but it never quite takes off.

Meanwhile, the Nazi are beginning to crack down. Everyone is faced with choices to make for how they will survive. Otto is arrested. Freud?s family wants him to emigrate to London. Franz wants to have Anezka run away with him to some place peaceful. Suddenly Franz must take on maturity. But what will that mean? And what will it cost him?

An interesting part of this film, in light of Sigmund Freud being one of the key characters, is possible psychological images: begin underwater, dead animals, a spider that lives in the tobacco shop, and Franz?s many dreams, which Freud encourages him to write down. It might make for an interesting project to watch the film with Freud?s The Interpretation of Dreams at hand. But in this film Freud never psychoanalyses Franz or his problems. Rather he serves, along with Otto, as a mentor to a young man who must grow up quickly.

The film tracks Franz?s growing maturity in a variety or ways. One subtle way is through clothing. For the first part of the film, Franz is always wearing short pants or knickers. After Otto?s arrest, when he must now run the shop himself, he begins to wear trousers. But the real coming-of-age moment is when Franz has taken Freud a gift of Havana cigars, Freud shares one with Franz who has not smoked prior to this. In that scene, Freud recognizes Franz as an adult, and perhaps Franz recognizes that for the first time.

As Franz makes his journey from na?vet? to maturity, he grows through the wisdom imparted by his two mentors: Otto and Freud. Wisdom is something valued in scripture. But it is never seen as an easy path. In Proverbs, we are reminded that many follow after the siren call of Folly. In Ecclesiastes, the biblical cynic philosopher calls his search for wisdom ?an unhappy business that God has given to human beings to be busy with.? In his time in Otto?s ?temple of pleasure and spirit? Franz learns many new things. Through the words and actions of his two mentors, Franz begins to see that he must put away the childish part of his life. The world needs him to be involved and to act properly and courageously.

The Tobacconist is available on Virtual Cinema through local art houses.

Photos courtesy of Menemsha Films

A Hidden Life: Resisting Evil

Terrance Malick creates films that are spiritual experiences. Sometimes, it is more about the experience than story. (Personally, I love going through those experiences, but understand why some find it difficult.) In A Hidden Life, Malick creates an experience that relies on the real-life inspirational story of Franz J?gerst?tter, an Austrian conscientious objector during World War II. Although it has the traditional plot framework, like many of Malick?s films, it feels more like visual poetry than the prose that makes up the story.

The tone of the film is set at the beginning as strains of Bach?s St. Matthew?s Passion plays over archival footage of Nazi parades and military parades. This dichotomy of the sacred and what is now nearly universally seen as the embodiment of evil speaks to the conflict upon which this film is built. We know from the beginning that this is a story of good and evil. We also know that it will surely be told with a spiritual depth that is rare to find in films.

August Diehl in the film A HIDDEN LIFE. Photo by Reiner Bajo. ? 2019 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation All Rights Reserved

Franz J?gerst?tter (August Diehl) is a peasant farmer living in an idyllic village in the Alpine foothills. He, his wife Fani (Valerie Pachner), and their three daughters live a happy life in a community that works, plays, and worships together. When Austria is annexed by Germany, Franz, like all Austrians, must report for basic training. Because farmers are important to the war effort, he soon returns home, but the threat of being called up is always on his mind. If he is called up, he will be required to take an oath of allegiance to Adolph Hitler, whom he sees as evil. (The term Antichrist is used about Hitler in the film, but not spoken by Franz. He does seem to agree with the characterization, though.)

As he awaits the possible call up, he and Fani discuss his options. He also becomes known to the community as an anti-Nazi (a stance most of the village disagree with). While others use ?Heil Hitler? as a greeting, Franz dissents. He speaks with his parish priest, who is supportive, and even gets an audience with the local bishop, who is less so (perhaps out of fear that Franz might be a Gestapo spy).

August Diehl and Valerie Pachner in the film A HIDDEN LIFE. Photo by Reiner Bajo. ? 2019 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation All Rights Reserved

When the call-up comes, Franz reports, but when the time comes to take the oath, he refuses?an act he knows may well lead to his immediate execution. Instead he is arrested and begins a period of months in prison, first in Austria, and then in Berlin. Many, his priest, his lawyer, military people, even other prisoners, make arguments that he should sign the oath and save his life. But in his heart, he must be faithful to himself and his Christian beliefs?even if it could lead to his death.

Meanwhile, back in the village, the J?gerst?tter family is being ostracized. Fani and her sister are left to do all the farm work themselves, even when the others in the village help one another in these difficult times. Franz and Fani?s daughters have mud thrown at them by neighboring children.

During this period, we hear, mostly in voice over, the letters between Franz and Fani. The letters are in part love letters, but also an exploration of the faith in God these two people have as they face these trials. The way the letters are read make them seem poetic.

This is a film that has various layers for us to appreciate. As always with Malick films, A Hidden Life is gorgeous. Director of Photography Jeorg Widmer gives us jaw dropping shots of scenery. Even his shots inside prison speak as loudly as the dialogue in the film. The visuals of the film create a visual poetry that underlies the story we are told.

August Diehl in the film A HIDDEN LIFE. Photo by Reiner Bajo. ? 2019 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation All Rights Reserved

Like some of Malick?s other films, he allows the visual aspects to help carry the story. The film is in English and German. The German portions are not subtitled, but in reality we don?t need the subtitles. We know perfectly well what is happening, even if we don?t know the words being said. The love letters are often heard as we see scenes from the life the two key characters are living out. Those scenes may not coincide with the words we hear, but they clearly are integrated to the emotional tone of the letters.

A good part of the film is built around those who try to get Franz to submit to the oath. It is not unlike the temptation of Christ or the discussions Job has with his friends. Each one brings a new reason for him to consider: it is really just a formality; no one really takes it seriously; he has a duty to his family to stay alive and support them; he can be assigned hospital duty and not be part of the fighting; no one will know what he is doing so it is a wasted effort; it is his patriotic duty to support his nation; it is biblical to obey those in authority because they have been put there by God. And like Jesus in the wilderness or Job among the ashes. Franz holds firm to his position that he is doing right and his duty to God.

For one who remembers the draft during the Vietnam War, I recognize those arguments, which are similar to those made against conscientious objectors in that period. Like J?gerst?tter?s neighbors, there were many during the Vietnam era who considered COs to be cowards and traitors. It was often a difficult path for those who sought to live out their faith in that time by refusing to take part in what they considered an unjust and illegal war.

August Diehl and Valerie Pachner in the film A HIDDEN LIFE. Photo Courtesy of Fox Searchlight Pictures. ? 2019 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation All Rights Reserved

In one of his letters Franz writes, ?”If I must write… with my hands in chains, I find that much better than if my will were in chains. Neither prison nor chains nor sentence of death can rob a man of the Faith and his free will.? In this he echoes the Apostle Paul, who spoke of himself as an ?ambassador in chains?. For Franz, the Nazis might control his body and even take his life, but on a spiritual level, his freedom was his own.

A word should be said about the length of the film. Its running time is three hours. While leaving the theater after seeing this at AFI Fest, I overheard a conversation in which some one asked if it needed to be three hours. I thought that perhaps it didn?t need to be that long, but there is no reason for it not to be that long. And because it is such an immersive and at times meditative experience, the running time could easily be seen as adding to the strength of the film.

Valerie Pachner and August Diehl in the film A HIDDEN LIFE. Photo Courtesy of Fox Searchlight Pictures. ? 2019 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation All Rights Reserved

For the record, Franz J?gerst?tter was declared a martyr by Pope Benedict XVI and beatified in 2007. It should be noted that the word martyr comes from the Greek word for witness. Franz J?gerst?tter servs as a witness to what it means to be faithful in the face of evil. His story was relatively unknown for many years. One argument made by his tempters was that no one would ever know his story, so it was an empty act. But now, his story comes to us with power and faith to speak to how we are called to live in the world when evil often appears in many manifestations that seek to either force us to take part, or at the very least stand silently by.

A Hidden Life was awarded the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury at Cannes.

Photos courtesy of Fox Searchlight Pictures

Back to the Fatherland – The Burden of the Past

How can young Israelis decide to move to Germany or Austria, given the historical issues Jews faced there? Back to the Fatherland gives us a look at a few of those young people?and their grandparents?to try to find some insight into the possibility to finding a future that overcomes history.

The film opens with the words of Yochanan, grandfather of co-director Gil Levanon? ?I don?t believe in Germany. They were bad. And they stayed bad and they will always be bad. I?ll also never make friends with a German who?s nice to my granddaughter. I can?t do that.? Yochanan, a Holocaust survivor, reflects how some continue to hold onto the animosity that grew out of their lives. But to Gil, the ?third generation?, it seems that perhaps Germans are not as bad as her grandfather believes.

The genesis of this film goes back to when Gil met Kat Rohner, the other director, in college in the U.S. Kat too is ?third generation?, but on the other side; her grandfather had been a Nazi officer. They realized that there was a generational disconnect that often made the decision to move more difficult.

The film follows three younger Israelis and their grandparents as they deal with the issue. It isn?t always as negative as Yochanan?s response. One of the grandparents is very supportive because they know the grandson will not be happy in Israel because of the political situation. (The grandson uses the term ?apartheid? in reference to the treatment of Palestinians.) For some of the younger generation it represents an attempt to reconnect with their history.

The film doesn?t take a side. It recognizes the pain of the older generation and the animosity that they carry for the way they and their families were treated. Some lost all they knew and loved. They found a security in the state of Israel. But for those of the ?third generation? it has created a historical void. They are well aware of the events of the Holocaust, and the personal stories of their grandparents, but they also know that things are different in Germany and Austria. Not perfect, there are nationalist movements arising again, but there has also been much done to create a more diverse atmosphere in those countries.

This film is not so much about creating reconciliation between those who suffered and those who committed the crimes. It is about trying to reconcile the pain of one generation with the new perspectives of another. Such generational gaps are common throughout history, but the divide between the Holocaust survivors and their grandchildren is especially sharp. Making this film gave those involved a chance to work through a bit of the process of coming to terms personally with that division.

Photos courtesy of First Run Features