Alma & Oskar
Director: Dieter Berner
Writer: Hilde Berger, Dieter Berner
Cast: Emily Cox, Valentin Postlmayr, Tatiana Pauhofová, Anton von Lucke, Wilfried Hochholdinger, Virginia Hartmann, Gerald Votava, Cornelius Obonya, Mehmet Atesci, Marcello De Nardo, Johanna Orsini-Rosenberg, Brigitte Karner, Lilo Grün, Roland Koch
Seen on: 6.7.2023

Content Note: rape, toxic relationship

Plot:
Recently widowed Alma Mahler (Emily Cox) is a fixture in the Viennese art scene, though her own music is overshadowed by the life and legacy of her late husband Gustav. Though preserve Gustav’s memory, a young artist is hired to make his death mask – Oskar Kokoschka (Valentin Postlmayr), a known provocateur in his art. Oskar is immediately struck by Alma. While Alma takes a little longer to warm to Oskar, once her passion is ignited as well, they start a tempestuous affair.

Alma + Oskar is a biopic about a fascinating woman, a little less fascinating man and an important artistic period for Vienna. It is good that it’s not longer than 90 minutes, but those 90 minutes are not badly spent with it.

I think I would have preferred the film if it was simply Alma +, with Oskar just one of the chapters in her life. She is just way more interesting than him and Emily Cox gives an excellent performance to bring her to life. But that’s probably mostly because I really don’t like that their relationship is portrayed as this big, albeit self-destructive romance. Especially since it includes rape, although it’s at least never something that is excused – their relationship is never the same again after that.

That being said, Postlmayr was a good choice for Kokoschka and inhabits the role well. In fact, the screening I attended was the premiere in Vienna and Postlmayr was among the attendees, wearing a kind of yellowish-pinkish sweater that blended with his skin color a little, and I really wondered wheather he was just wearing nothing under his blazer – as Kokoschka might have done. That’s how much he sold the role to me.

The film has many nods to (mostly) still famous contemporaries that will test your historical knowledge a little, but it never overwhelms the film. It remains easily digestible thanks to its classic structure. Would I have minded if it had a little more of the transgressive spirit that Kokoschka(‘s art) had? No. But it’s also nice to get a movie every once in a while where you can just lean back.

Overall, I don’t regret seeing the film at all, though I might have minded having spent money on it (but the tickets were won). In any case, if you are interested in the time period and/or the artists involved, I think you should give this a go. There are certainly worse ways to spend your time.

Summarizing: Decent.