Eroica follows the canons of the Wiener Films, in which elegant costumes and the world of the upper middle class become the main actors. Yet, this important film by Kolm-Veltée shows a marked personality, focuses mainly on the genius of Beethoven and cleverly avoids any possible clichés.
Österreichisch-deutsche Motorbootfahrt auf der Elbe (‘Austrian-German regatta along the Elbe’), made in 1911, features an opening in which a man is intent on filming the event with his camera placed on a tripod, one of the earliest examples of metacinema. At the Viennale 2019, within the retrospective dedicated to Louise Kolm-Fleck.
Ein Tag aus dem Familienleben des Erzherzog Leopold Salvator (‘a day in the private life of Duke Leopold Salvator together with his family’), made in 1913, despite a very rudimentary direction for the time, is, all in all, enjoyable and pleasant, but also ironic and self-mocking in its simplicity and naivety. At the Viennale 2019, as part of the retrospective dedicated to Louise Kolm-Fleck.
Das Gänsehäufel, made in 1912 and produced by the Wiener Kunstfilm is an important document of an episode in Viennese life of the past, which conveys a healthy good mood and also shows a certain essential lyrism as it becomes increasingly poetic and contemplative as we approach the finale. At the Viennale 2019, as part of the retrospective dedicated to Louise Kolm-Fleck.
The Ancestress, by Louise Kolm-Fleck and Jakob Fleck, is a very imperfect film, but nevertheless made with such grace and such a clear gaze that it rightfully ranks as a real gem. An important heritage of Austrian and world filmography.