Franziska Weisz Movies
- 2004
A woman discovers that an old hotel hides some unexpected secrets in this psychological thriller. Irene (Franziska Weisz) is hired as a desk clerk at a luxury hotel in Austria following the disappearance of Eva Stein, who had previously held the position. Having moved to the city to take the job, Irene takes a room in the hotel for the meantime, and is eager to learn more about her new home and business, though her boss Kros (Peter Strauss) seems curiously guarded about what goes on at the hotel. Though Irene makes friends with some of the staff members, she still spends a great deal of her time trying to uncover the mysteries of the building, and when she discovers a pair of Eva Stein's glasses, she begins to wonder if the girl ever went missing at all or if she might still be on the premises somewhere. Hotel was screened as part of the "Un Certain Regard" series at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Franziska Weisz, Birgit Minichmayr, (more)
Famed for his controversial documentaries Models and Animal Love, Ulrich Seidl makes his first fiction film with this impassioned attack on the banality and emptiness of modern suburban life. Using a documentary shooting style and mostly non-actors, Seidl weaves together a series of vignette story lines into a tapestry of loneliness and quiet desperation. A retired old man obsesses over meaningless information in life -- the weight of his groceries, and noise level of the neighborhood. A faded beauty queen's devotion to her boyfriend ends after an ugly night at the discotheque. A couple who has long since divorced though still lives under the same roof engages in a psychological war of attrition, trying to force the other into moving out the house. A young teacher's date with her boyfriend turns unexpectedly into a drunken orgy. This film won the prestigious Golden Lion at the 2001 Venice Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Maria Hofstatter, Christine Jirku, (more)
