I recently saw this at the 2009 Palm Springs International Film Festival. Writer/Director Martin Gschlacht offers up a tale of crime and revenge from Austria in a good looking cinematic presentation although the story set up is a little long and characters you expect to return are discarded. Despite it's too long beginning the film never really lags and keeps your interest with it's slick story from Gschlacht and wonderful cinematography from Gotz Spielmann and a great production design by Maria Gruber. Alex (Johannes Krisch) has fallen in love with Ukrainian immigrant Tamara (Irina Potapenko) who works in a brothel where Alex does odd jobs for the underworld brothel owner. In a plan to get out of debt and the control of the brothel Alex hatches a plot to rob a bank in his grandfather's rural village. Alex is forced to assimilate into the village when his plan is botched. With Ursala Strauss as the shopkeeper Susanne and Andreas Lust as her policeman husband Robert this is a good film but would carry a strong R rating for nudity and sexual situations. Fortunately, violence is kept at a minimum. I believe this is Austria's official submission to the Oscars for Best Foreign Language film. I would give it a 7.5 out of 10 and recommend it.
