Out of Time (Aus der Zeit) by Harald Friedl

“If I can become 100 years old, I could run the shop even longer.” says Mr Jentsch, the devoted owner of a leather goods store. Mr Kienesberger is walking around his chemist’s shop talking to himself about his past, his dead wife and the business he has run since he was a young boy. The butcher’s shop owned by the Fritzes, a married couple, is a place popular in the 14th district for its good quality and familiar atmosphere. Fee Frimmel is not proud of her well-known shop the “button king”. Fate hasn’t been generous with her and she wants to move on, without the shop. These traditional shops represent specialised handcrafts in a time when big shopping malls and design objects are preferred.

The documentary by Harald Friedl draws a very charming portrait of four elderly shopkeepers in Vienna. In a discrete and caring way the camera captures their personalities and their typical old-fashioned Viennese style of talking and serving costumers. All in all a beautiful, melancholic film that will make you search for a similar shop in your neighborhood.

Zsuzsanna Kiràly