Search: Directed by Ulrich Seidl

Ulrich Seidl’s unique, stylised documentary depicts in trademark, single-take set-ups a number of Viennese residents and their relationships to their beloved pets.

There is no denying the movie’s structural intensity, its social relevance, or the fact that it is hypnotic viewing.

Seidl seems interested in these people precisely because they’re all too easily judged by others, even though their needs and desires are relatably ordinary.

All four actresses are excellent; forever chewing gum, Bartsch in particular is superb.

Seidl draws absurdity and hilarity from a narrative arrangement that is predictably and increasingly caustic.

Seidl manages to make this ordeal excruciating to watch without ever being graphic, visually or even narratively.

As the film progresses, Seidl allows scenes to play out longer than expected, as they enter that uncomfortable territory (for protagonists, audiences and censor boards alike) of total unpredictability.

The director offers perhaps the best visual representation of the word ‘kitsch’ cinema has recently seen