"Wilde Maus" is a co-production between Austria and Germany in the German language, but I prefer referring to this one as an Austrian film because the writer and director is Josef Hader, one of Austria's finest actors right now. Hader has worked on screenplays many times, also (or especially) on films he starred in, so this is nothing new for him. However, many people were looking forward to this one because it was the very first time Hader also directed a film. I myself was really only looking forward to it because Hader plays the main character and I quite like him usually, also in his Brenner films, the ones he is possibly most known for. Still his recent portrayal of Stefan Zweig was also top-notch. Anyway, back to this one here. It is a very new film, premiered not too long ago in 2017 and also managed some awards recognition, also for Hader's work behind the camera and I cannot deny for a first time directorial effort it is quite a good achievement, even if Hader of course with his age (mid-50s),is in a really good position to make a convincing work with all the experience he has in front of the camera and also in writing.

So what is this film about. It is pretty difficult to summarize briefly because there is so much going on. It is probably about a man who drastically has to change his life after losing his job and makes some good and some not so good decisions on the way. The outcome is a film that works well for the most part. I thought the comedy was probably the very best thing here and there are some downright hilarious moments in here. You will recognize them yourself, but let me just give you my favorite. It's when the central character talks to some brute and wants the guy to take care of an enemy. The brute says something like "first his less valuable stuff gets smashed, then the more valuable stuff gets smashes, then he gets smashed". It may not sound so funny, but it really was in that very scene. Or the police officer scene who is a huge fan of the central character. I also think that the script is pretty smart. There are several moments when you can see the love to detail offered in here. One would be when they talk about one woman wanting to be pregnant and then we see the bus with the buggy sign on it and we see the woman enter (she really wants to) and the man asks her to drive home with him, but she doesn't, so he obviously does not enter the bus. Or another example, the moment they really split up is when the housekeeper enters the room saying she will clean the bedroom now. There is some very subtle hilarity to these inclusions and it's a very intelligent film as well.

But even if the good outweighs the bad and Hader is pretty strong as usual, there are also some weaker components here, even if they are probably mostly subjective. One would be the wife's affection with young men apparently, which felt a bit odd and unexpected, especially when she is asked to go to the concert and her reaction was in a way where I never thought she would really go there. But the music there is also in such massive contrast to her husband's taste in music that it once again adds something pretty interesting to the film, even if it did not feel too authentic. Another pretty ridiculous development was the revelation of who the protagonist's boss was actually dating. I also did not like the ending really that much when they are both in the car, but that's also subjective. It was still a nice metaphor on moving on together. Now in reference to my title, I am referring to German comedies that include dramatic elements as well as comedic elements and also have several sequences about romance. The first people you may think of here are Matthias Schweighöfer and Elyas M'Barek and honestly I think their stuff is so so bad and repetitive that it's almost painful to watch. Til Schweiger can be mentioned as well, even if there is some okay work among his films from a decade ago or so. It's all the same. Create conflict, show the protagonist as a troubled soul and how he fixes his life with the help of other people, usually a woman, then there is major conflict 15-20 minutes before the end again after it seems solved and everything seems to collapse and then at the very end, it is all good again and everybody is pretty happy. It's the same formula and it is almost never a success from any perspective. For the easily entertained who enjoy RTL afternoon television too. This 100-minute film is a perfect example how to do things right for the most part. You never know what will happen next. Will he shoot his former boss? Maybe accidentally shoot his lover? Will he commit suicide? How's the relationship with his new pal continuing. It is all very open and there is nothing predictable about this movie. This is just one of the reasons why it worked out so nicely. Hader and his cast (including some of Austria's finest right now) are doing a really nice job here and I certainly recommend checking it out, especially to everybody who likes the Brenner films. One final note, i also like the film's title because the protagonist's life is turned upside down into a roller-coaster during these 100 minutes and there's people right next to him, close to him actually, who go through their very own roller-coaster experience.

You get the basic setting of the plot after 20 minutes and even if the story tries to surprise you it is predictable. Few nice one liners, few nice shots but too long, too thin, too flat.

Thank goodness for a well-crafted, old-fashioned comedy with sensible editing, excellent performances and a witty plot structure. "Wild Mouse" is a truly humorous, enjoyable movie. With gentle satire, the pathos of our human foibles is shown with finely drawn relationships. Although there is a likeness with Woody Allen's schemes here nobody is driven over the edge into extreme violence and tragedy. The main protagonists are Georg, who for years has been an erudite but somewhat snobbish and fierce classical music critic and his wife, a psychotherapist and counselor who at 43 has a belated desire to become pregnant. However, all their efforts have been fruitless, causing bilateral blaming and stress which she is unable to address despite her proficiency in such matters. Meanwhile, with the media business in decline Georg is made redundant but does not have the nerve to tell her. Instead he pretends going to work whilst helping an old school chum to run a fair ground roller-coaster, the 'Wild Mouse'. At the same time, he is taking feeble revenge on the chief editor who fired him by vandalizing his car. Then the story gets more complicated and comical… The film's characters are cocooned within their own preconceptions and limitations, as well as being trapped and pushed by work and social expectations, but they are not fundamentally malicious. Exasperated by such pressures they might however, act irrationally and get themselves into a 'spot of trouble' with some hilariously funny outcomes. I liked 'Wild Mouse' a lot and left the cinema smiling, whilst feeling quite reflective and slightly sad too. I'd rate it four out of five or a little more.