Lukas Miko

Haneke's articulate critique of the isolating effects of western society, the media and television in particular, is composed of an intricate series of unrelated scenes, culminating in an apparently motiveless act of violence.

Stella Goldschlag grows up in Berlin during the Nazi regime. She dreams of a career as a jazz singer, but is forced to go into hiding with her parents in 1944, and her life turns into an hopeless tragedy.

As the members of the Ullich family gather at their palace in Vienna, their deceased ancestors suddenly appear and usher in a series of unforeseen events. Not only does the past unexpectedly become the present, criminal machinations are also revealed to be at work in a world in which ethics have been discarded and profit seems to be the main goal.

To withstand the psychological torture of the Gestapo, a notary imprisoned by the Nazis (Oliver Masucci, "Look Who's Back") rescues himself in the world of chess. Based on the novel by Stefan Zweig.