The Praying Mantis
Die Gottesanbeterin
Colour, 35mm
Austria, 2001, 93 min
Section: Variety Critics´ Choice
| Director: | Paul Harather |
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| Screenplay: | Susanne Freund, Gerda E. Grossmann, Paul Harather |
| Dir. of Photography: | Fabian Eder |
| Music: | Mona Davis Music |
| Designer: | Elisabeth Klobassa |
| Editor: | Andreas Kopriva |
| Producer: | Helmut Grasser |
| Production: | Allegro Film |
| Sales: | Allegro Film |
| Contact: | Austrian Film Commission |
| Cast: | Christiane Hörbiger, Udo Kier, Jan Niklas, Simon Schwarz, Ursula Koban, Klaus Ofczarek, Gerhard Ernst, Tanja Petrovsky, Rainer Egger |
Synopsis
An aging hausfrau finds hobby-murder an intoxicating sport in The Praying Mantis, an expertly played black comedy that´s beautifully lensed in widescreen and casts an ironic eye on Austria´s parochial mindset. Mantis recalls some adaptations of German novelist Ingrid Noll´s dark comedies featuring murderous women, especially Rainer Kaufmann´s The Pharmacist. Christiane Höerbiger is terrific as Trixi, a still-trim grandmother who escapes her dull home life with Siggi (Klaus Ofczarek), a model airplane enthusiast. You know the pic is not going to be your average middle-class drama when she´s spotted one day by Karli (Peter Faerber), a sleazy friend of her husband´s, and she calmly gives him oral sex to ensure he´ll keep her secret. Derek Elley
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AUSTRIAN FILM COMMISSION
Stiftgasse 6, 1070 Vienna
Austria
Tel: 00 43 1 52 63 323
Fax: 00 43 1 52 66 801
E-mail: office@afc.at
ALLEGRO FILM
Krummgasse 1a, A-1030 Vienna
Austria
Tel: 00 43 1 712 50 36
Fax: 00 43 1 712 50 36 20
E-mail: office@allegrofilm.at
| Supported by | General partner | Main partners | |||
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KVIFF Partners |
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