Guest
For Nikolaus Geyrhalter, the majestic grandeur of plans, in their size, depth and duration, is in now way a gratuity, but the fruit of a will to embrace complexity – in this case, that of the inhabitants of a border zone in the Austrian Tyrol, where exiles from Africa and the Middle East are sometimes known to pass. From the testimonies collected from locals, an attachment to a certain form of identity emerges, together with fear and preconceived ideas, but that’s not all – expressions of empathy and benevolence are also frequent. The film then acts as a return to basics: rendering the multiple dimensions of filmed characters, fleeing any form of futile manichaeism. The open-minded gaze the filmmaker invites us to adopt offers each and everyone their original dignity, whilst revealing the deleterious impact of anxiogenic manoeuvres led by certain political groups and their media outlets.
