Agnes Hausmann

With his latest film „Rickerl – Musik is höchstens a Hobby,“ the Salzburg-born director Adrian Goiginger presents a melancholic comedy full of music, passion, and hearty Viennese tavern humor. It is a lovable, small-scale hymn to the Vienna scene and the many facets of Austropop. Peter Hartwig, German producer and advisory board member of FILM OHNE GRENZEN, in conversation with the Austrian lead actress Agnes Hausmann.

Peter Hartwig: A few years ago I was in Bad Saarow for the first time because Wolfgang Kohlhaase had lured me there, and ever since I've been in love with this festival, this unique place, and I'm allowed to help shape the program, give advice, and repeatedly contribute ideas on how films find their way into the program in a very unpretentious way. And I thought „Rickerl“ was a congeniai film for Bad Saarow because, for me, it is one of the most important films of the year. Agnes, you were born in Vienna, you did your training there at the conservatory, then numerous television and feature films, and you were also at the theater in Klagenfurt and in Vienna. And now you're acting in one of the most successful Austrian cinema films of recent years. It was nominated no less than seven times for the Austrian Film Award. And I also think Adrian Goiginger is an unbelievable talent in the field of writing and directing in the German-speaking world. How did the two of you actually come together for this project?

Agnes Hausmann Well, I actually got into the project in a completely conventional way. Three years before the casting even took place, Adrian had already been working on the story with Voodoo Jürgens to turn it into a screenplay. And I think at the point where the two of them had finally found the story they wanted to tell, which felt somewhat cohesive, this character of Vicky was the next important piece of the puzzle, because she is established a bit as the antagonist at the beginning of the film. And I got in through my agency and a completely normal casting process, and of course I was thrilled that it ultimately worked out.

Peter Hartwig: I think it is such a wonderfully told triangle between you, Voodoo, and your child Dominik. And what I liked in particular, the film is also a huge love letter to music, to Vienna, and to the coffee houses. But above all, it is also brilliantly told how your character, regarding the past relationship between the two of you, repeatedly plays a role in many small nuances or even in very powerful moments. Did you work that out yourselves, or was that already a fixed element in the script from the beginning?

Agnes Hausmann Yes, well, I'm always glad when people notice that, because for me as an actress, that was also somehow the biggest challenge. I always want the audience in that final scene, when we're sitting at the kitchen table and somehow it's peaceful and also loving, to feel precisely that as well. But at the same time, it's also kind of a farewell. And that you know they'll somehow be good for each other. But life just isn't like that sometimes. Probably, in a certain way, they're not good for each other at all, but you're left with the wish that it would have been nice if it had worked out. And precisely this ambivalence that you brought up was interesting for me to play. Yes, the parents come from pretty much the same part of Vienna, but she had already worked her way out of there, maybe a few steps ahead of her age regarding this desire to stand on her own two feet and become independent. But at the same time, that's her home, something that surely still resonates with her or makes her vibrate. Or also reflects a whole lot of memories.

Peter Hartwig: And for me, there are quite a few incredible moments and scenes where I have to take a deep breath out of sentimentality, out of being moved, and also out of fun. Did you always stick strictly to the script while working, or were there also moments where you said, let's leave a certain amount of room for improvisation? To me, it looked so alive that I asked myself several times, that was definitely improvised.

Agnes Hausmann We always knew that Adrian is a very good captain and he always knows very precisely what he is looking for in a scene and what he wants to tell. But at the same time he is very generous and always extended a big invitation to us to contribute. Whether it was about the script, the costume, or whatever. And there were certain scenes where it was completely clear to Adrian that you couldn't write them, because as soon as you write something down, it sounds like paper. So, he said, there are six or eight of us at a table now, this has to be some kind of free conversation, so just start! And the great thing about working with Adrian is that he always films with two cameras. That means as an actor or actress, you are always in the shot, so to speak, always in this bubble of the situation because both cameras are recording the two participants in dialogue, and that protects the situation, I think. Added to that, we were all able to get to know each other really well even before the shoot and worked out the stories together.

Peter Hartwig: Yes, I think you can really feel that very, very well in the entire cinematic atmosphere. And that brings us to a specific topic, namely the six-year-old child. In Ben Winkler, Adrian has found a great actor who embodies this in a wonderful way and who tries everything to maintain his parents' relationship. We all know that working with children is wonderfully protected, for example regarding shooting times. How did that work? Or did Adrian shoot without rehearsal right away, because it might not be all that easy for a child?

Agnes Hausmann Adrian somehow has a Midas touch when it comes to his child actors. What I found totally fascinating about Ben Winkler was that he had an insane amount of energy and ability to concentrate. He was practically a professional actor. As you already mentioned, we kept the shooting times a bit shorter and paid attention to a lot of details so that Ben would have a good time on set. His mom Marion was always there too, but that was really great because she was simply his rock in the surf. And so a space was somehow created for Ben to work completely freely. And Adrian is great at communication, he just knows how to guide the actors very empathetically so that in the end they deliver precisely what he wants to see. And Ben was always well prepared. He really worked hard on a lot of things, learning how to play the guitar specifically for the film, and he really put his back into it and remains very connected to the film to this day. So whenever he has the opportunity to see it, when we are at festivals for example, he watches the film again from start to finish, and I think he's already watched it almost twenty times and told me, yeah, you know, it's just my favorite movie.

Peter Hartwig: For me, as someone from Berlin-Brandenburg, it is quite phenomenal to experience how the linguistic culture of Viennese rubs off on this film. That was totally exciting for me. Even in Austria, the film can only be understood with subtitles in some regions. I found it quite impressive what a role the dialect plays in this film. Could it have been told like that anywhere in another region? I read that Voodoo Jürgens apparently also said we have to tell it in Viennese, otherwise it doesn't work.

Agnes Hausmann I find it remarkable that a director from Salzburg is making a film about Vienna. I think this also stemmed very strongly from a love of Voodoo Jürgens' music, which has accompanied and touched Adrian for many years. I think, first and foremost, it was clear that they wanted to work with Voodoo, and Voodoo only works the way he actually plays in the film. Only here in his city and in his language, because Viennese is his art. The way he celebrates this language and also expresses it, with all its depth and its humor and its darkness, those are the attributes that bring the actual vibe into the film. On the one hand, it has the humor and the lightness, but also many dark aspects and something that seems a bit repulsive or causes friction. I come from this city myself, so I might be a little blind to that. And yes, I also think the film only belongs in Vienna.

Peter Hartwig: I thank you very much, not only for the conversation, but above all for this wonderful film, for this great, warm-hearted story.

Agnes Hausmann Thank you very much, and I hope that I can soon come to your festival in Bad Saarow in person.

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Photo: Giganten Film