Neuer Deutscher Film Report

A sailor appears at the port of Buenos Aires, and at the same time as a dandy in Fegina, the “Riviera” of Monterosso al Mare (double-role: Konrad Bayer). Through a kind of “inner monologue” both are dependent on one another in a cryptic way. An elegant, cool beauty (Suzanna Hockenjos) becomes bored with the dandy, causing him to suddenly (in order to impress her?) shoot the sun from the sky, which produces a very erotic Eve (Ingrid Schuppan), but gives nothing more to the dandy. Thereupon, he further knocks down the moon, but this spectacle also bores the cool blonde. Incensed about this, the dandy destroys his entire strange world. In doing so, he loses Eve. Grief regarding her death and despair regarding the unwelcoming lady turns the dandy back to a sailor. He returns to the sea.

This portrait of the great Austrian writer combines a brilliant monologue delivered by Thomas Bernhard and the artful film work of Ferry Radax. The location chosen for three summer days is a park in Hamburg full of huge old trees. While sitting on a white bench, Bernhard talks about dark childhood memories, his youth, and his struggles with writing. A striking element is his high praise of obstacles as "material for the brain."