LFF 2021: Homefront ‘Hinterland’
LFFThere is something quite interesting surrounding Stefan Ruzowitzky's Hinterland, an on the surface, simplistic thriller. Deeper down, it is a brooding political and socially conscious entity that has an extraordinary layer of production and set design.
First and foremost, at the heart, this is a murder mystery, and to that extent, Hinterland supports its weight on that notion alone. Granted, while this arc drives deeper with substantial layers, it is on the surface produced with terrific effect. It never holds back regarding the tone, which evokes a sense of horror but also vocalises that very tone in an effective manner of suspense. While this is not the pinnacle of the genres shared, it is a compelling and often effective palette.
However, the deeper the film gets, the more interesting and immersive it becomes; building already on top of the immersion in principle with the narrative, Hinterland explores the crisis of a lost generation. A country in the midst of political unrest and the verge of collapse. It is both an interesting and evocative background for this feature to be founded upon. The rough, rugged, and gritty world of the after-effects of WWI is constant physical and visual that stirs this weight but crafts a deeper substance in the creatures it creates. Throughout, Stefan Ruzowitzky’s film is consistent in not projecting heroes or villains but multifaceted corners of the psyche that have been groomed or pushed to make their choices. Again, it offers a distinctive catering of substance and differing unique causes to the characters it presents.
Lead actor Murathan Muslu as Perg encapsulates such motif and carries said weight almost singlehandedly with his curation of character. It is quaint and soft but broods with strength when the screenplay from many writers, which counts to a staggering five individuals. Thankfully, it is an element that is not overrun with chaos or indulgence and knows exactly what it wants to be. To that extent, it actually showcases decent maturity and restraint.
What is the most spectacular and compelling nature to proceedings is the set and production design, which formulates quite the distinctive and immersive aesthetic. Presumably shot live-action with a green screen brought in to craft background, cityscapes and, ultimately, the city of Vienna in 1920. While knowing such information beforehand would run the risk of evoking a sense of cheapness found in the subpar work of Robert Rodriquez's Sharkboy and Lavagirl or the numerous additions of Spy Kids, again producing a half-arsed and cheap design. Nevertheless, it works to the power of Hinterland ten-fold in constructing an eroding and destabilised vision of a place breaking apart figuratively and literally.
All in all, while Stefan Ruzowitzky's Hinterland is not going to set the world on fire with its premise, it is an effective and brooding thriller that offers substance two-fold in its plot and underbelly, with a rather spectacular aesthetic and production that looks and acts as a superb visual metaphor.
