A distant Echo

Odessa, the name of a confiscated cruise ship whose crew has been stranded in the Gulf of Naples for seven years, provides the basic motif for the eponymous "walking film" by Baumann/Kaltner/Fraterno. Accompanied by off-screen logbook entries, two men explore the harbor area of Naples without ultimately being able to grasp it. 
Thomas Bernhard is probably one of the most exciting Austrian contemporaries; an assessment that applies not only to his literary work, but also to his engaging personality. In this masterfully staged portrait, Radax places Bernhard on a park bench and lets him talk about his childhood memories, the writing process and his emotional life. In the process, he gradually approaches his protagonist, who is bursting with wit and sarcasm and who, according to Radax, lived up to his reputation as a "difficult man" even before the first take. (Dietmar Schwärzler)

Program
Odessa (Thomas Baumann/Martin Kaltner/Matteo Fraterno, 2005, 33 min.).
Thomas Bernhard - Three Days (Ferry Radax, 1970, 58 min.)