On the drive home tonight, I heard a rave
review of three films that I had never heard of before. The trilogy is called "Where To And Back" and the three films are:
God Does Not Believe in Us Anymore (Austria, 1982),
Sante Fe (Austria, 1986) and,
Welcome in Vienna (Austria, 1986) all directed by Axel Corti. The trilogy has been released (36 bucks per title(!) or as a collection with a 4th Corti picture
A Woman's Pale Blue Handwriting for 126 bucks by
The National Center For Jewish Film at Brandeis University.
The review was by John Powers. He said, speaking of the final chapter in the Trilogy,
Quote:
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I’m not joking when I say this movie’s intelligence and complexity make that other great post-war Vienna film, The Third Man, seem naïve in comparison.
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& for those interested in critical blurbs, here are some others:
“’Where to and Back’ is a masterpiece” – Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times
“Remarkable films.” – Deborah J. Kunk, Los Angeles Herald Examiner
“At once intimate and epic and an impeccable period re-creation, ‘Where to and Back’ is a masterpiece shot in gritty black and white and populated by several dozen richly drawn characters.” – Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times
“A masterful, engrossing, novelistic trilogy.” – Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times
“A filmmaker whose restless, intelligent camera eye is always fixed on the fresh and illuminating phrase, gesture, moment.” – John Powers, L.A. Weekly
“The story of individuals compelled to reshape their identities against the backdrop of World War II.“ – Annette Insdorf, New York Times
“The cast is perfect.” – Stanley Kaufman, New Republic
“What Corti and Troller have done is what artists do: illuminate the life, the lives, within the history – the terrible drama, the bizarre comedy, the wry contradictions.” – Stanley Kauffmann, New Republic
Don't know that I can pony up for this, but thought I would pass along and see if any HTF'rs have seen these films and have an opinion...
