The Rebellion

Produced for Austrian television, Michael Haneke’s poignant adaptation of Joseph Roth’s 1924 novel presents a naturalistic character study of an individual rejected by the state and society. Andreas Pum is a dedicated veteran who returns from the Great War crippled and humbled. Working as a street musician, he begins to find joy in life, until a chance incident on a tram makes him realize that to the ungrateful and unjust system he is nothing other than a worthless social outcast. As befits a discerning realist, the Austrian director brings to the surface class disparities and absurdities, drawing a picture of a brutal reality in which citizens are punished for their patriotic beliefs and subservience. This dispiriting world, full of contempt and moral degeneration, is immersed in sepia and two-tone shades, thus resembling the expressionist cinema of Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau. The echoes of The Last Laugh resonate in the soul-shattering performance of Branko Samarovsky, who in The Rebellion pays tribute to its star, Emil Jannings.

Daria Sienkiewicz

Michael Haneke is best known for his dark style. His films often document problems and failures in modern society. Haneke has worked in television’ theatre, and cinema. The Piano Player won the prestigious Grand Jury Prize at Cannes in 2001. His 2005 film Hidden won many awards, including three at that year’s Cannes International Film Festival. Haneke’s films have been nominated for and awarded many other prizes at film festivals around the world.

Catalog MFF Nowe Horyzonty 8. edition