Caviar (film) - Misplaced Pages

2019 film

Caviar

Directed by	Elena Tikhonova
Written by	Elena Tikhonova, Robert Buchschwenter
Produced by	Ursula Wolschlager, Oliver Auspitz, Kurt J. Mrkwicka, Andreas Kamm, Franz Novotny, Alexander Glehr
Starring	Margarita Breitkreiz, Darya Nosik, Sabrina Reiter
Cinematography	Dominik Spritzendorfer
Edited by	Cordula Werner, Karin Hammer, Alarich Lenz, Daniel Prochaska
Music by	Karwan Marouf
Release date	January 17, 2019 (2019-01-17) (Austria)
Running time	93 minutes
Country	Austria
Languages	German, Russian

Caviar (German: Kaviar) is a 2019 Austrian comedy film directed by Elena Tikhonova. The premiere took place on January 17, 2019, as part of the Max Ophüls Prize film festival in Saarbrücken, where the film won the Audience Award for Feature Film. The Austrian cinema release took place on June 13, 2019. The film was released in cinemas in Germany on July 4, 2019. The film was first broadcast on ORF on July 9, 2021.

Plot

Nadja, hailing from Russia, resides in Vienna, employed as an interpreter for the oligarch Igor. Despite Igor's grandiose plan to construct a luxurious villa akin to Florence's Ponte Vecchio on the Schwedenbrücke, Nadja endeavors to dissuade him. Meanwhile, Nadja's confidante, Vera, inadvertently supports Igor's scheme through her Austrian husband Klaus, who betrays Nadja's trust. Sensing betrayal, Teresa, the nanny of Nadja's children, proposes gathering evidence of Igor and Klaus's misdeeds. Klaus capitulates to Igor's demands for funding and citizenship, unbeknownst to him that Teresa and Nadja are onto his schemes.

As the scandal unfolds, Vera uncovers Klaus's hidden wealth in Liechtenstein. Following Klaus's dismissal by Igor, a bribery scandal ensues, implicating Zech in the process. While Zech denies involvement, evidence mounts against him. Nadja plays a pivotal role in exposing the corruption, ultimately leading to Vera reclaiming the hidden millions. In the aftermath, they revel in their friendship and newfound prosperity.

Cast

Margarita Breitkreiz: Nadja
Darya Nosik: Vera
Sabrina Reiter: Teresa
Mikhail Evlanov: Igor
Georg Friedrich: Klaus
Simon Schwarz: Ferdinand
Joseph Lorenz: Stadtrat Hans Zech
Robert Finster: Don
Sonja Romei: urologist
Christoph Dostal: neighbour
David Oberkogler: policeman
Susanne Gschwendtner: policewoman
Lukas Johne: Leopold
Aurelia Burckhardt: Liechtenstein bank teller
Dominic Marcus Singer: border guard

Production

Filming took place in Vienna and Lower Austria in October and November 2016. The filming location included the Karl-Wrba-Hof in Favoriten.

The film was supported by the Austrian Film Institute, the Vienna Film Fund, Creative Europe MEDIA, the State of Lower Austria and Film Location Austria (FISA), and the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation was involved.

The film was produced by Witcraft Filmproduktion GmbH, Novotny & Novotny and MR Film. Sergey Martynyuk and Karim Weth were responsible for the audio and sound design, Theresa Ebner-Lazek was responsible for the costume design and Hannes Salat and Julia Oberndorfinger were responsible for the production design.

The film is the feature debut of director and screenwriter Elena Tikhonova, who was born in Obninsk and has lived in Vienna since 2000.

Reception

The film received positive reviews from Austrian film critics. Furthermore, some critics highlighted how the Ibiza affair, which transpired later in May 2019, rendered the film even more timely.