Egon Schiele Exzess und Bestrafung
Encyclopedia
Egon Schiele Exzess und Bestrafung, also known as Egon Schiele Excess and Punishment (English) and Egon Schiele, enfer et passion (French) is a 1980 film based on the life of the Austrian
artist Egon Schiele
. It stars Mathieu Carriere as Schiele with Jane Birkin as his artist muse Wally and Christine Kaufman as his wife Edith and Christina Van Eyck as her sister. The film is essentially a depiction of obsession and its constituents of sex, alcohol and uncontrolled emotions.Set in Austria during the Great War, Schiele is depicted as the agent of social change leading to destruction of those he loves and ultimately of himself.
The film is an international co-production
with actors of German, French, Dutch and English origin. It was directed by Herbert Vesely
and produced by Dieter Geissler and Robert Hess. The cinematography is by Rudolf Blahacek and the haunting music is by Brian Eno.
rule. The story begins around 1912 as Schiele (Mathieu Carriere) and his mistress and artistic muse Wally (Jane Birkin) are befriended by an obsessed teenage girl (Nina Fallenstein) who has run away to be with Schiele. Subsequently Schiele is imprisoned on the grounds that he has behaved in a sexually improper way towards the young woman.The young woman falsely accuses Schiele and although he denies the charge he is imprisoned. The girl withdraws her accusations but Schiele is requested to leave the area as he has offended the social mores of the conservative society in which he was living. Those offended include his mother (Angelika Hauff) who rails against his lax morals.
On his release his excesses continue although he fights (literally) to conform even volunteering to serve in the Austrian army in World War I
. As a soldier Schiele cuts a pathetic figure and he is quickly removed as unsuitable. He disposes of his alcoholic mistress and has an affair with a society beauty who ultimately abandons him as she can not cope with his sexual obsessions. Schiele's emotional cruelty is exposed as he shuns Wally as she nears death.Their parting scene at a Vienna social gathering reveals a corruption and cruelty that is at the heart of Schiele's artistic soul.
Schiele's paintings however develop greater depths as he pushes his body and emotions to their limit. Whilst his paintings are gaining acceptance (and many now hang in the Leopold Museum
in Vienna) his own sanity suffers. He marries and appears to find a modicum of contentment until his wife Edith (Christine Kaufman) dies in the 1918 Spanish Influenza pandemic. Schiele makes love to his dying wife in a scene that is tender yet shocking, evoking a central theme of Schiele's work: a link between sex and death. Shortly thereafter Schiele himself contracts influenza and dies.
The locations for the film were Vienna and in the Croatian capital Zagreb
.
Austrians
Austrians are a nation and ethnic group, consisting of the population of the Republic of Austria and its historical predecessor states who share a common Austrian culture and Austrian descent....
artist Egon Schiele
Egon Schiele
Egon Schiele was an Austrian painter. A protégé of Gustav Klimt, Schiele was a major figurative painter of the early 20th century. His work is noted for its intensity, and the many self-portraits the artist produced...
. It stars Mathieu Carriere as Schiele with Jane Birkin as his artist muse Wally and Christine Kaufman as his wife Edith and Christina Van Eyck as her sister. The film is essentially a depiction of obsession and its constituents of sex, alcohol and uncontrolled emotions.Set in Austria during the Great War, Schiele is depicted as the agent of social change leading to destruction of those he loves and ultimately of himself.
The film is an international co-production
International co-production
An international co-production is a production where two or more different production companies are working together, for example in a film production...
with actors of German, French, Dutch and English origin. It was directed by Herbert Vesely
Herbert Vesely
Herbert Vesely was an Austrian film director and screenwriter. He directed 17 films between 1955 and 1988.-Selected filmography:* Egon Schiele Exzess und Bestrafung * The Bread of Those Early Years...
and produced by Dieter Geissler and Robert Hess. The cinematography is by Rudolf Blahacek and the haunting music is by Brian Eno.
Plot
The final years of the short life of Egon Schiele, the Austrian expressionist painter are chronicled against the backdrop of the final years of the HabsburgHabsburg
The House of Habsburg , also found as Hapsburg, and also known as House of Austria is one of the most important royal houses of Europe and is best known for being an origin of all of the formally elected Holy Roman Emperors between 1438 and 1740, as well as rulers of the Austrian Empire and...
rule. The story begins around 1912 as Schiele (Mathieu Carriere) and his mistress and artistic muse Wally (Jane Birkin) are befriended by an obsessed teenage girl (Nina Fallenstein) who has run away to be with Schiele. Subsequently Schiele is imprisoned on the grounds that he has behaved in a sexually improper way towards the young woman.The young woman falsely accuses Schiele and although he denies the charge he is imprisoned. The girl withdraws her accusations but Schiele is requested to leave the area as he has offended the social mores of the conservative society in which he was living. Those offended include his mother (Angelika Hauff) who rails against his lax morals.
On his release his excesses continue although he fights (literally) to conform even volunteering to serve in the Austrian army in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. As a soldier Schiele cuts a pathetic figure and he is quickly removed as unsuitable. He disposes of his alcoholic mistress and has an affair with a society beauty who ultimately abandons him as she can not cope with his sexual obsessions. Schiele's emotional cruelty is exposed as he shuns Wally as she nears death.Their parting scene at a Vienna social gathering reveals a corruption and cruelty that is at the heart of Schiele's artistic soul.
Schiele's paintings however develop greater depths as he pushes his body and emotions to their limit. Whilst his paintings are gaining acceptance (and many now hang in the Leopold Museum
Leopold Museum
The Leopold Museum, housed in the Museumsquartier in Vienna, Austria, is home to one of the largest collections of modern Austrian art, featuring artists such as Egon Schiele, Gustav Klimt, Oskar Kokoschka and Richard Gerstl....
in Vienna) his own sanity suffers. He marries and appears to find a modicum of contentment until his wife Edith (Christine Kaufman) dies in the 1918 Spanish Influenza pandemic. Schiele makes love to his dying wife in a scene that is tender yet shocking, evoking a central theme of Schiele's work: a link between sex and death. Shortly thereafter Schiele himself contracts influenza and dies.
The locations for the film were Vienna and in the Croatian capital Zagreb
Zagreb
Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...
.
Cast
- Mathieu CarriereMathieu CarrièreMathieu Carrière is a German actor.Carrière grew up in Berlin and Lübeck; he attended the Jesuit boarding school Lycée Saint-François-Xavier in Vannes, France, a school which had previously been attended by the director of Carrière's first major film, Volker Schlöndorff. In 1969 Carrière moved to...
- Egon Sciele - Jane BirkinJane BirkinJane Mallory Birkin, OBE is an English-born actress and singer who lives in France. In recent years she has written her own album, directed a film and become an outspoken proponent of democracy in Burma.- Early life :...
- Wally - Christine KaufmannChristine KaufmannChristine Maria Kaufmann is a German actress. In 1961 she won the Golden Globe Award for New Star Of The Year - Actress, the only German to be so honoured....
- Edith Harms - Christina Van Eyck - Adele Harms
- Karina Fallenstein - Tayana Von Mossig
- Ramona Leiss - Gerti
- Marcel OphulsMarcel OphulsMarcel Ophüls is a documentary film maker and former actor.He was born in Frankfurt, Germany, the son of the director Max Ophüls...
- Dr Stovel - Robert Dietl - Benesch
- Danny Mann - Mrs Stovel
- Guido Weiland - Herr Von Mossig
- Maria Ebner - Frau Harms
- Angelika Hauff - Frau Shiele, Schiele's mother
- Helmut Dohle - Gustav Klimt
- Wolfgang Leisowsky - Arthur Roessler
- Serge GainsbourgSerge GainsbourgSerge Gainsbourg, born Lucien Ginsburg was a French singer-songwriter, actor and director. Gainsbourg's extremely varied musical style and individuality make him difficult to categorize...
- Unnamed