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by Ulrich Seidl
grade: 8
A strong inner conflict is the real focus of Sparta. Ewald laughs when he plays with the children. Slowly, however, his laughter turns into a cry. A cry that nobody notices, that only vents inside a car or in the retirement home where his father is. Subtle facial expressions say more than a thousand words. Ulrich Seidl (and the excellent Georg Friedrich) render all this perfectly and show us how the protagonist is actually the only real victim of his own weaknesses. At the Viennale 2022.
“Piccolo fratello”
We are all victims and executioners at the same time. This is a concept that Ulrich Seidl has often exposed in his films, presenting us each time ambiguous, ambivalent characters, perpetually tormented by deep inner conflicts. And it is precisely a strong conflict, a stark contrast between what happens outside and what each protagonist personally experiences, that is told each time through images in a subtle and stratified way, in a mise-en-scène that stands out each time for its impeccable mastery. This, then, is also the case with Sparta, probably the most controversial film directed by the Viennese director. Due, in fact, to the themes dealt with and – above all – due to inaccurate information published on the eve of its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival 2022, Sparta risked not being shown at any other film festival.
Fortunately, this was not the case. And in fact, a week later, the film premiered at the San Sebastian Film Festival, where it was well received by audiences and critics, and later at the Viennale 2022. A decision, this one taken by both festivals, undoubtedly very courageous and intelligent. Yes, because, in fact, in addition to the undisputed artistic quality of the film, following its screening we understand how Sparta is inextricably linked to Rimini, which had already had its world premiere at the Berlinale 2022, as well as being the first part of this diptych centred on two brothers.
If, then, in Rimini, we were told the story of Richie Bravo (played by Michael Thomas), who lives in Italy, where he was once a successful singer, and currently finds himself in serious financial straits, in Sparta we get to know Ewald (an extraordinary Georg Friedrich) better, the younger brother – “piccolo fratello”, as he is called in Rimini by Richie – who has long since moved to Romania, where he has a job and a girlfriend, but who soon finds himself having to come to terms with some of his past troubles and his propensity for paedophilia.
Ewald is tormented by this inner conflict, suddenly changes his life, breaks up with his girlfriend and moves inland, where in a small village he opens a Judo school (called “Sparta”), so that he can always be in contact with children. Simply in contact, however, without giving vent to his nature. And, in fact, the children see in him a kind of big brother, they are happy in his school, where they can finally feel free and play. No one suspects anything of what goes on in Ewald’s head, who also shows strong moral integrity, often sticking up for a child abused by his stepfather.
And it is this strong inner conflict the real focus of Sparta. Ewald laughs when he plays with the children. Slowly, however, his laughter turns into a cry. A cry that no one notices, that only vents inside a car or in the retirement home where his father is. Subtle facial expressions say more than a thousand words. Ulrich Seidl (and, in this case, also the excellent Georg Friedrich) render all this perfectly and show us how the protagonist is in reality an extremely vulnerable and attentive person to those around him. The only real victim of his own weaknesses.
Considering, therefore, both films – Rimini and Sparta , in fact – we realise, however, that the real protagonist of both films is actually Ekkehardt, Richie and Ewald’s father (played by Hans-Michael Rehberg, here in his last cinema appearance before his death in 2017 and to whom both films are dedicated). Ekkehardt is now elderly and suffers from dementia. Hospitalized in a retirement home, he only occasionally seems to remember a few elements of his past. Among them is his membership of the National Socialist Party. How did he influence the lives of his children? This Ulrich Seidl never says explicitly, but, on the contrary, offers the viewer all the cues for his own interpretation of the facts.
That Ekkehardt’s past did not make Richie and Ewald’s childhood easy is, however, something one can easily imagine. And indeed, the moments in which we see the man in the aforementioned retirement home are quite frequent and alternate continuously with scenes concerning now Richie (in Rimini) now Ewald (in Sparta). “Jedem das Seine”. To each their own. And each of the two brothers seems condemned to an existence with no hope of salvation. Or maybe not?
Pessimism or realism? Rimini and Sparta are very different in terms of settings and themes (a wintry Rimini and the sad fate of a once famous singer, next to a small, poor village in Romania and dangerous forbidden desires), but, fundamentally, they show us the same thing: two men, two brothers who share a difficult past and who find themselves struggling alone against the consequences of what they have experienced, becoming, in fact, victims and executioners at the same time. Two anti-heroes who are never judged, but observed by Ulrich Seidl with pity and empathy. Something, this, that naturally only an experienced and attentive gaze can do.
Original title: Sparta
Directed by: Ulrich Seidl
Country/year: Austria, Germany, France / 2022
Running time: 101’
Genre: drama
Cast: Georg Friedrich, Florentina Elena Pop, Hans-Michael Rehberg, Marius Ignat, Octavian-Nicolae Cocis
Sceneggiatura: Ulrich Seidl, Veronika Franz
Cinematography: Wolfgang Thaler, Serafin Spitzer
Produced by: Ulrich Seidl Filmproduktion, Essential Films, Parisienne de Production, Arte France Cinéma
