"The ex-con Alex and his immigrant prostitute girlfriend Tamara are desperate to escape the dangerous brothel where they work.  Robert is a police officer happily married to Ursula, the two enjoying the serene splendor of a farmhouse they've designed and built themselves.  A botched robbery and a bullet fired astray set these characters on a collision course.  What begins as a grim, melodramatic thriller soon spins into completely unexpected emotional territory as writer-director Götz Spielmann reveals the characters' wounded psyches and traces their uneven arcs of redemption.  With its long, carefully composed medium shots, the film ventures into rich, temporal territory, exploring real matters of life and death.  Is this the first Buddhist thriller?" --Telluride Film Festival.  This year's Austrian submission for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar.

Filmography: Fremdland (84), Erwin and Julia (90), The Neighbor (93), Antares (04).

Cultural Partner: Austrian Consulate General, Los Angeles