Horst_In_Translation Review of Lovely Rita

Lovely Rita (2001)

Sadly this film is not as lovely as its protagonist

[4/10 · 3 April 2018]

"Lovely Rita" is a German/Austrian co-production from 2001, so this one is already over 15 years old and it is the first work by writer and director Jessica Hausner that crossed the one-hour mark. It took home some awards recognition and is one of the reasons why Hausner is making films these days still and pretty successfully in fact. It is a relatively short film though as it stays under the 80-minute mark and that already includes credits. I must say that I am not familar with any of the actors here despite being a bit of a German film junkie, but that's fine I guess because most of them aren't too famous overall. Lead actress Osika for example apparently never appeared in a movie before or after this one. Still she is definitely among the better aspects to this one, not only because of her looks, but also because of her performance. She is the shining light in what is otherwise a really sterile and bleak work. This is not necessarily a negative criticism, but while the film feels realistic for the most part, including the characters, there is not one area where it excels enough for me to really make an impact and make this memorable and worth watching. It was tough to care for any of the protagonists really with the exception of Rita probably. But that's not enough. The rare louder and more significant moments like shooting at a gun range did not only not fit in in terms of style, but also did not result in half the impact thesy were supposed to result in. So while this film is far from a failure, I think that Hausner was a bit away from her best still. But if it was one reason why she became who she is today, then it is still good this film got made. I do believe though that there was the potential for something really better than this was overall. The coming-of-age aspect as severely underdeveloped as is the struggling with everybiody around her involving school as well as family and of course religion, one crucial aspect here. Maybe watch "Kreuzweg" instead if you are interested in that subject. Still I feel that "Lovely Rita" is a film that could get better on reatch, so maybe I'm gonna check it out at some point in the future again. For now, I have to give it a thumbs-down though. Not recommended.