Tea time with Der Sieg der Barmherzigkeit
An interview with Albert Meisl, director of Der Sieg der Barmherzigkeit
How did you get the inspiration for these two music specialists?
Since I was 15 years old, I have been a passionate record collector. Over the years, I got in touch with a lot of people at record fairs, in charity shops or at flea markets who are totally addicted to special and niche kinds of music, records and all collectible stuff around that. Like the original stage costume of a Viennese 60s Beat band that Mr. Szabo loses in the film. And there is also another fact: a lot of people studying film have studied art science before – like me. But they’d rather make films about artists, not about art scientists. So I thought I should make a film about them.
How much are Austrian people interested in music?
I think in general a lot. No wonder, because classical music is part of Austria’s history and identity. But my main character isn’t very interested in this kind of music. He loves 60s Beat and Mod music. In those times, Austria was a kind of developing country in the popular music field. Because when the allies left the country in 1955, they took with them their progressive musical influences. And so the bands and records Mr. Szabo is interested in are really underground, not mainstream of their time. And I think Mr. Szabo feels a little bit like this himself.
Why were you interested in depicting a competitive relationship?
Both characters stand for two systems, for two kinds of art scientists. Mr. Szabo is the old-fashioned one. Long studying, struggling with his dissertation. Mr. Fitzthum is the new one, totally influenced by neoliberal society, which also took over science. He is quite anxious and very stuck to his career, which has to develop quickly, otherwise it won’t ever take place. But as he is not only a polite, but also a good-natured guy, he gets infected by Szabo, his life problems and his anarchic attitude. And in the end, they are both musicologists, so the respect is stronger than the competition.
How did you work on dialogue and the unspoken feelings behind?
When I started my career, I tried to make not very talkative films. At film school you are told to show, not to tell. But then I realised that nearly all the people around me talk a lot. Which, of course, doesn’t mean that being able to express yourself helps you solve any problems. I gave a lot of characteristics of the people around me to the characters and the dialogue.
One of your characters is very singular and takes the story further step by step, how did you create such a character?
In my real life I was often confronted with people, neighbours, friends, etc. who – as we say in Austria – ask you for a finger but then take the whole hand. This is stressful, but seen from a distance also very funny. Szabo is such a guy. The other thing is that Mr. Szabo is not a person living in the middle of society, he is part of what we call in Austria the “Prekariat”. That means well-educated people who have no jobs or only very low ones. Society tells us that those people should be quiet and thankful because they do not contribute toward the national product. Szabo lives in a substandard flat but behaves like a king. I like this kind of people.
Would you say that the short film format has given you any particular freedom?
Of course. We got around 1,000 euros, from our film school, the Filmakademie Wien (University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna) for this film. And we had all the freedom you can wish for. We – that is me and my wonderful team. We study together and are friends at the same time. I think there is nothing better than shooting a film with friends. In realising your first feature I think it must be difficult to go on like this. But it is worth fighting for. In this project we didn’t have to fight, so we had a lot of energy for our work, for changing things that wouldn’t work, for discussing about the story and for having a beer after long shooting days.
Der Sieg der Barmherzigkeit is being shown in International Competition I9.
