Ant Street ( Die Ameisenstraße )

Ant Street (DVD) (*)

~~$26.99~~ $20.97

Original Title: Die Ameisenstraße
Screened, competed or awarded at:
Other Film Festival Awards

Language Selections:
English ( Subtitles )
French ( Subtitles )
German ( Dolby Digital 2.0 )

Product Origin/Format:
Germany ( PAL/Region 0 )

Running Time:
87 min

Aspect Ratio:
Fullscreen

Special Features:
Interactive Menu
Scene Access

Movie filmed in 1995 and produced in:
Austria ( Germany, Central Europe )

Directed By:
Michael Glawogger

Written By:
Peter Berecz
Michael Glawogger

Actors:
Robert Meyer ..... Alfred Navratil
Bibiane Zeller ..... Frau Gerhartl
Nikolaus Paryla ..... Roland Wanecek
Monika Tajmar ..... Frau Wanecek
Wolfgang Böck ..... Ernstl Freitag
Brigitte Kren ..... Rosi Freitag
Branko Samarovski ..... Herr Halbgebauer
Maresa Hörbiger ..... Frau Halbgebauer
Josef Hendrichs ..... Onkel Wanecek
Julius Mitterer ..... Alter Mann
Elisabeth Stiepl ..... Frau Morgenwind
Dunja Sowinetz ..... Fräulein Dorli
Wolf Bachofner ..... Ferdinand Haslinger
Maria Hofstätter ..... Frau Haslinger
Christoph Kornauth ..... Ignaz Haslinger

Synopsis:

***ATTENTION***Both English & French synopsis appear***In the middle of Vienna stands an old tenement building, and time has left its mark both on the house and its inhabitants. Here, time passes at a strange pace. Floor by floor, the visitor can discover small self-contained worlds: grousers, collectors, the forgotten, people with obsessions, concealed and exposed passions. Behind securely locked doors, each prepares his own heady brew. Then, however, death makes its entrance for the first time, sweeping through the stairwell. The owner of the house, a resident himself, dies. His nephew, an entrepreneur, inherits the building and acts immediately. He moves out, takes up lodgings, hands out notice to quit, renovates and devastates. One goal hovers before his eyes; to get rid of the tenants and make money out of the property. Gradually, the closed doors begin to open, and with each outrage committed by the new owner, the residents are drawn closer together. What comes to light thereby is an anthill full of life, and once it opens up, a flood of comical individuals streams out of it, all fighting for their own living space. A minor official, plagued by persecution mania, fears a dreadful end to the matter. Though the signs he sees of this are all wrong, nevertheless, in a furious finale, the outside world descends upon the house and his inhabitants.

The middle-class, Hapsburg-era building on which pic centers houses a rich cross-section of society. Pensioners outnumber children, Polish construction workers are crammed in one tiny flat, and tenants' last names reveal their multiethnic Central European roots. The super is a Yugoslav woman who shares her cramped quarters with her three-generation family. Narrator, and guide through the story, is a civil servant at the Office of Statistics, Alfred Navratil, convincingly played by Robert Meyer, who has made a minor specialty of functionary roles.

Ant Street, a polished first feature from Austrian former documaker Michael Glawogger, satirizes Viennese idiosyncrasies with affection-laced bite. This intelligent apartment-block comedy shows strong regional potential and could cross into other territories. Its on-target humor will appeal to anyone passably familiar with Viennese daily life.

This product was added to our catalog on Saturday 24 November, 2012.

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