If you get a chance to see Die Gstettensaga: The Rise of Echsenfriedl, from the good folks at Monochrom
in Austria, you should do so. The film is a mad post-collapse satire of
information culture and tech fetishism, in a weird sort of melding of
Stalker, Network, and The Bed-Sitting Room. The film is a classic road
story: Two hapless city dwellers are sent into the wilderness to
interview the tech outlaw, Echsenfriedl. Along the way, they are
schooled and hassled by militarized postal carriers, zombie workers,
neanderthal farmers, and others. There’s even a musical number. It’s
mad, zero-budget filmmaking, and a passion project by a lot of obsessed
characters who bring real energy to the production. Check it out at a
festival or via Pirate Bay (Don’t worry about ripping anyone off. The
producers are the ones who told me about the link).
