Estrany riu

Adoleszenz, Coming of Age und im Besonderen queere Selbstfindung sind fluide Phasen im Leben eines jungen Menschen. Alles ist emotional im Fluss, und der Spiegel für die fast mystisch angehauchte Identitätsbildung in Muxarts Debüt ist die Donau, entlang der die Familie des 16-jährigen Dídac eine Sommerreise unternimmt; Radausflüge zu architektonisch interessanten Wegmarken inklusive. Dem katalanischen Regie-Auteur sind in seinem filigranen Familienporträt Stimmung, Atmosphäre, Impressionismus und Sensibilität alles, Handlung und konventionelle Spannungsbögen dagegen wenig. (Roman Scheiber)

In Anwesenheit von Jaume Claret Muxart, Sophie Ahrens (Produzentin), Francesco Wenz (Schauspiel) und Clara Rus (Color Grading).
Mit der freundlichen Unterstützung von Accion Cultural Española.

In Jaume Claret Muxart’s tender, sensual debut feature, the Danube is by turns emerald green, deep blue or dull grey; a glittering, crystalline surface or an opaque screen. Its mercuriality reflects the longing that torments sixteen-year-old Dídac, contending with his first heartbreak during a family vacation along the river in southern Germany. While swimming, a naked boy his age appears in the water below, circling and teasing him. Is the boy real, a figment of his imagination, a fairy-tale spirit? His mysterious allure will tempt Dídac away from childhood and into a new stage of life, a transition that carries different sentimental implications for each member of the family. Claret Muxart sets ESTRANY RIU in a region home to both Friedrich Hölderlin, whose play Der Tod des Empedokles Dídac’s mother is rehearsing, and the Ulm School of Design, which the family visit. In line with Romantic tradition, the filmmaker’s exploration of the characters’ emotional world brings together nature and culture. Aside from literature and architecture, it also embraces painting, as evoked by the lush 16mm cinematography, and music, like the Grieg and Ravel heard on the soundtrack, endowing this queer coming-of-age story with a timeless and mythical quality. (Giovanni Marchini Camia)

Jaume Claret Muxart: MIA I MARC (2019, K), EL BO INNOCENT (2020, K), ELLA I JO (2020, K), DIE DONAU (2023, K), LA NOSTRA HABITACIÓ (2024, K)