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by Ludwig Wüst
grade: 8
Shot entirely in 16mm, I am here! is a difficult, often painful, but also tenderly nostalgic journey between past and present in view of a new future. An apparently essential feature film, but, in reality, much more complex than it may initially seem. At the Diagonale’23.
Childhood friends
Two characters, a forest, many memories. Processing wounds from the past in order to face a new beginning. This is not the first time that the versatile filmmaker Ludwig Wüst has dealt with such (complex) topics. Just think, for instance, of the excellent My Father’s House (2012), Departure (2018), or the recent 3.30PM (2020), just to name a few examples. And so, in I am here!, which premiered at the Diagonale’23 (where it was awarded the Kodak Analog Film prize), we see how certain themes find their (definitive?) fulfilment within a little, but precious and extremely refined feature film in which – as always happens in the director’s works – realism and minimalism prove to be the right solutions for staging the protagonists’ stories.
Monika (played by Martina Spitzer) and Martin (Markus Schramm) are two childhood friends who have not seen each other for many years. One day, the two meet in a forest. A forest that was very significant for them in the past and that still holds important secrets. The two protagonists tell each other about their past years, talk about their childhood, their mothers, what frightens them most about the future and, in general, their weaknesses. In I am here!, therefore, they both immediately seem extremely alive, vulnerable and strong at the same time.
Shot entirely in 16mm, I am here! is a difficult, often painful, but also tenderly nostalgic journey between past and present in view of a new future. An apparently essential feature film, but, in reality, much more complex than it may initially seem. Ludwig Wüst has once again given us immortal images of timeless places or, better still, of places where time seems to have stood still. The past has never been forgotten and now desperately needs to be processed.
Also in I am here!, therefore, we see how the two protagonists recall the most important moments of their lives. Desperate tears, tender childhood memories, old photographs, confessions, but also sudden, unexpected gunshots. The forest, symbol of the unconscious, but also guardian of every burning secret, is here treated as a true co-star. Actors Martina Spitzer and Markus Schramm give us exceptional performances that are never over the top, giving life to two complex and multifaceted characters who grow up on screen, get to know each other and become children again in the most natural way. Ludwig Wüst has once again created a small jewel of contemporary Austrian (and world) cinema. Perfectly in line with his filmography, I am here! picks up on certain themes dear to the author, but at the same time stands out for its own, well-marked personality, to which a pronounced lyricism is the perfect complement.
Original title: I am here!
Directed by: Ludwig Wüst
Country/year: Austria / 2023
Running time: 72’
Genre: drama
Cast: Martina Spitzer, Markus Schramm
Screenplay: Ludwig Wüst
Cinematography: Klemens Koscher
Produced by: film-pla.net