Atmen (2011)

Atmen: Directed by Karl Markovics. With Thomas Schubert, Karin Lischka, Georg Friedrich, Gerhard Liebmann. Through his work at a morgue, an incarcerated young man trying to build a new life starts to come to terms with the crime he committed.

“Karl Markovics had to work hard to escape his signature role as Stockinger, the funny sidekick in the popular TV show u0026quot;Kommissar Rexu0026quot;. It took a lot of u0026quot;seriousu0026quot; theater work and the leading role in Stefan Ruzowitzkyu0026#39;s Academy Award winning u0026quot;Die Fälscheru0026quot; until he finally got the respect he deserved as an actor. Now Markovics goes on to prove his talents extend beyond just acting: u0026quot;Atmenu0026quot; is his debut as a writer and director – and he hits the bullu0026#39;s eye on the first try.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eApparently, Markovics has worked on a lot of script ideas over the years, but never deemed any of them good enough to be developed into a movie. Finally his wife convinced him to go through with one of those ideas, and rightfully so. u0026quot;Atmenu0026quot; is an artistic triumph. Not only is the script brilliantly written, but it is also flawlessly executed. The direction seems almost effortless, as if Markovics was already an old master. He seems to know intentionally what to show when, heu0026#39;s got a great eye for frames and unagitated pictures, and, an actor himself, he naturally knows how to direct other actors. Thatu0026#39;s not to take away from the great cast. Veteran stars like Georg Friedrich and Karl Rott donu0026#39;t disappoint, but the focus lies on Thomas Schubert who says a lot with just facial expressions. Obviousl,y the movieu0026#39;s success depended on Schubertu0026#39;s performance and the first time actor lives up to the task. Heu0026#39;s a great talent. Hopefully weu0026#39;ll see more of him in the future.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eu0026quot;Atmenu0026quot; is a touching and believable movie about life and death, tight-lipped, but never boring, bleak, but in the end optimistic. Itu0026#39;s very authentic in its depiction of Vienna, its depiction of a boy who hasnu0026#39;t been dealt the best cards in life. And, most of all, itu0026#39;s got its heart in the right place. This really deserves an Oscar win – much more than u0026quot;Die Fälscheru0026quot; did, actually.”