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THE TOBACCONIST
Director: Nikolaus Leytner Cast: Simon Morzé, Bruno Ganz, Johannes Krisch, Emma Drogunova, Regina Fritsch MPAA
Rating: Running Time: 1:57 Release Date: 7/10/20 (virtual cinema) |
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Review by Mark Dujsik | July 9, 2020 The first death in The Tobacconist is the result of chance and, well, stupidity. A man, wanting to wash himself and relax in post-coital satisfaction, runs naked into a lake. The only problem is that there happens to be a thunderstorm occurring at the time. The man's carefree experience ends as one might predict. The rest of the deaths in this story are far from accidental, though, and that's just one of multiple juxtapositions in this film, an adaptation of Robert Seethaler's 2012 novel. It tells the story of young man living in Austria, just before the Nazis march into that country. Franz Huchel (Simon Morzé) starts in the idyllic country—aside from the dangerous storms—and moves to Vienna to start a career. He falls in love or into infatuation, and then he cannot imagine how such a naďve pursuit so overwhelmed his entire life. There is the time before city life, the Nazis, and the loss of romantic idealism, and there is the time after those things. The turning points just happen, because of fate (or foolishness) and politics and injustices that become impossible to correct. Franz doesn't know any of this will happen, and there's never a moment in which he realizes that world and his outlook on it have changed. He can only react as his mind and conscience dictate, and those choices define the person he ultimately becomes. In other words, the film, directed by Nikolaus Leytner, tells a coming-of-age story with some easy-to-overlook wisdom. We never know what moments and which people will come to change and define the course of our lives, just as we can rarely anticipate what fate or world might have in store for us. Those things matter, but in the end, one's choices show the full scope of a person. In this tale, Franz must leave his home in the country, because the man who went for an ill-advised swim was the partner of and provider for his mother Margarete (Regina Fritsch). She arranges an apprenticeship for her son with Otto Trsnjek (Johannes Krisch), a former lover who now runs a successful tobacco store in Vienna. Franz learns the trade and, with the increased number of people in his vicinity, starts to notice all the pretty women around him. He's desperate for some kind of romantic or sexual connection. That feeling, along with others, is reflected in Franz's dreams. Revolving around the lake near his old country home, his nightly visions become troubling omens of powerless, sex, and death. Lucky for him, one of Otto's regular clients just happens to be Sigmund Freud (the late Bruno Ganz), who knows a thing or a thousand about such dreams and sex. That's one of the two most significant relationships for Franz in this story. The other is with Anezka (Emma Drogunova), a lovely and exciting young woman whom he meets at a local festival. They drink and dance, and Franz imagines grabbing Anezka and kissing her when she asks what they should do next. In reality, though, he just lets her leave and spends almost the entirety of his remaining time in the city searching for—and occasionally finding—her. That's another running juxtaposition here—what Franz wants to do and what he's actually capable of doing or willing to do. As history catches up to this relatively innocent tale, it's fascinating and enlightening to see how those desires mature and evolve, as well as how much closer the reality of the choices matches Franz's imagination. For a long while, Leytner and Klaus Richter's screenplay focuses almost exclusively on its protagonist's quest for love or lust. The young man tries to track down Anezka, finding her living in a small apartment with several other women and learning that she does erotic dances at a local dancehall. None of it matters, although the dancing makes him jealous, because he's young and inexperienced and uncertain about matters of the heart—or the loins, for that matter. The filmmakers lull us into a sense of security with this lengthy section of the story. Because it is told from Franz's perspective, the world seems quite limited. Freud, one of the greatest psychoanalytical minds, becomes a sounding board for Franz's doubts and a wise adviser for a young man's romantic pursuits. Otto seems like a strict taskmaster, giving Franz menial jobs and scolding him for bothering his world-famous client. Egon (Michael Fitz), a local socialist, is just an eccentric visitor, and the fascism-sympathizing butcher next door to the shop is more of a minor annoyance, with his vandalism, than a genuine threat. That neighbor is one of only a few reminders of what's to come in history, but when it arrives in this story, the transition in tone is sudden and, since Leytner invests so much into Franz's romantic and sexual awakenings, unexpected. The perspective shifts, too, and even though it remains with Franz, our understanding of these characters changes to reflect the protagonist's own awakening to more pressing matters. The butcher becomes a real menace, and the socialist becomes a sacrifice. Otto reveals more courage and caring than the young man could have seen. Freud, the wise teacher, becomes a friend unaware of how much guidance he needs if he's going to survive the seismic political shift of his homeland. Anezka, who shows herself to be a pragmatic survivor, is an afterthought, if that. The Tobacconist is a skillful piece of storytelling, especially in the way the filmmakers adjust its tone and outlook to match the protagonist's growth. Our hero does mature, and no matter what his fate may be, it will be the one he decides. Note: The Tobacconist is available from Menemsha Films through Kino Lorber's virtual theatrical program Kino Marquee. You can rent the film for home viewing, with part of the cost going to your local independent theaters (e.g., the Gene Siskel Film Center in Chicago). For more information and to purchase access to the film, click here. Participating theaters are listed on the page. Copyright © 2020 by Mark Dujsik. All rights reserved. |
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