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FRAULEIN

Directed by Andrea Staka
  • YEAR 5 - FILM 8 / 
  • Switzerland / 
  • 2006 / 
  • German, Swiss & Bosnian with English subtitles / 
  • 81 min
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"A remarkably affecting work that doesn't go for easy sentiment."
– Jay Weissberg, Variety

Synopsis

Ruža left Belgrade more than 25 years ago to seek a new life in Zurich. Now in her fifties, she has completely detached herself from the past. She owns a cafeteria and maintains an orderly, joyless existence. Mila, a waitress there, is a good-humored Croatian woman who also emigrated decades ago, but, unlike Ruža, she dreams of returning to a house on the Croatian coast. Both of them receive a jolt when Ana, a young, itinerant woman who has fled Sarajevo, breezes into the cafeteria looking for work. Ruža hires her but is annoyed by Ana's impulsive and spirited efforts to inject life into the cafeteria. Gradually the acrimony will dissipate, as Ana, who hides a tragic secret under her passionate spirit, begins to thaw Ruža's chill, and their relationship will change both women in ways they never anticipated. Switzerland. German, Swiss German, Bosnian w/ English subtitles. Winner - Golden Leopard (Best Film) - Locarno Int'l Film Festival.

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Editorial Reviews

August 6, 2006

By Jay Weissberg

Andrea Staka's Golden Leopard winner "Fraulein" introduces a strong new voice in Swiss cinema.

--Jay Weissberg/ Variety - Review

 

LOCARNO, Switzerland -- The heartache that accompanies reluctant exile as experienced by three women from the former Yugoslavia underpins Andrea Staka's poignant drama "Das Fraulein," which won the Golden Leopard for best film in competition at the Locarno International Film Festival....

Making her feature debut, Swiss-born writer-director Staka, whose parents were Yugoslavian exiles, uses the Zurich locations evocatively, writes in-sightful dialogue and draws naturalistic acting from the principals. The result is a picture that should thrive in Europe and at art houses and suggests a bright future for the filmmaker.

--Ray Bennett / The Hollywood Reporter - Review

Portland Tribune
By Dawn Taylor

"Fraulein" is an intriguing picture about people struggling in ways that are so personal that they become universal….It's primarily a character study, and an excellent one. Director Andrea Staka plays the actors like a fine instrument, eliciting anxiety, pain, passion and joy that feel genuine.

--Dawn Taylor / Portland Tribune - Review

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Customer Reviews



Jeff in Seattle - Customer Review


Brock Toon - Customer Review
A promising effort from director Staka. Excellent character development allows viewers to understand the pathos of the main players, particularly that of Ruza and her young counterpart, Ana. Marija Škarièiæ shines here as the troubled, but ever-optimistic and indefatigable main player. The film doesn't give you the neat and happy ending you might be hoping for, but that's a point in favor of this grounded work.

Photos

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Filmmaker Andrea Štaka
Ana (Marija Škarièiæ)
Ana (Marija Škarièiæ) with Mila (Ljubica Jović)
Fraulein poster (hi res)

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