Bernhard Wenger stages an overly changeable Albrecht Schuch in his profound first feature film.
Nowadays there is simply nothing and no one is relating to anyone: After a concert, we get to know the friend of a work colleague, which is chatting about art, the boss introduces his son at a company party and a school child is making an impression with his pilot father. And every three times we were led behind the light, because the man in question is one and the same who works for an agency called “My Companion”, where you can commission such services.
Film scene from “Pfau – am I real?”
Japan as an idea provider
This initial situation ensures in “Pfau – am I real?” For plenty of absurd scenes and a lot of situation comedy. Under Bernhard Wenger's profound director, who presents his first feature film here, we are given Albrecht Schuch in top form (and very formable). History has been modeled on the “Rent-A-Friend” agencies in Japan, which has long existed, whose service, of course, has increasingly assumed forms-and sometimes hardly any reasonable-forms over time.
Film scene from “Pfau – am I real?”
Constantly changing everyday roles
However, what we can see in Wenger's work seems relatively harmless in comparison, but therefore no less bizarre. The concept is very pointed to drive to the extreme by asking the main character Matthias the question of how you can still feel your own emotions if you practically slip into other roles every day. This actually reads as if it were the description of the actor profession, but you shouldn't confuse the two professions. The agencies said even attach great importance to the fact that no real actors are working on them.
Film scene from “Pfau – am I real?”
Lots of guest stars
Schuch clearly dominates the scene here, but well -known guest stars are also at his side – especially Julia Franz Richter as an annoyed friend who can no longer be passed with Matthias' passivity in everyday life; In addition, Maria Hofstätter leaves lasting impressions in the role of a idiosyncratic customer, and Branko Samarovski plays a argumentative old man who simply cannot wrestle his temperament and thus starts a change process in the main character. The participation of Theresa Frostad Eggesbø is particularly surprising, which is mainly known from the Norwegian Netflix series “Ragnarök”.
Film scene from “Pfau – am I real?”
International echo
Wenger already excited attention with his short film “Sorry, I am looking for the table tennis room and my girlfriend” and was awarded an Austrian film award in 2019. His first feature film is now also well on the move: he celebrated world premiere at the Venice Film Festival, where he received two prizes and was usually received very positively by the international press.
Film scene from “Pfau – am I real?”
Strong debut
This film shells in all peacock colors: it is colorful and entertaining, but, with all the comedy, also stimulates thinking about current tendencies in our society. The Swedish director Ruben Ostlundundoubtedly from his works “The Square” was quite an impression on Wenger, “Pfau – am I real?” Certainly also with joy and profit – and that is a big compliment for a first work.
4 out of 5 peacocks on car roofs that refuse to come back down