Cinema release: Birgit Minichmayr shines in “Sleeping with a Tiger”

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Cinema release
Birgit Minichmayr shines in “Sleeping with a Tiger”

The film “Sleeping with a Tiger” will be released in German cinemas on May 23, 2024. Photo

© -/Arsenal Filmverleih GmbH/dpa

Late fame did not make Austrian artist Maria Lassnig happy. She was and remained bitter. Actress Birgit Minichmayr impressively shows this on screen.

In today’s world Maria Lassnig as one of the most important Austrian painters, media artists and graphic artists of the last decades. Lassnig (1919 – 2014) experienced success himself. But the path there was difficult. In the male-dominated art world, her persistence was often more important than her ability. She never gave up. But the tough fight for her art has also made her tougher.

Birgit Minichmayr, star at the Vienna Burgtheater and in several films such as “Alle Anderen”, “Schachnovelle” and most recently “Andrea lässt sich trennen”, portrays Maria Lassnig in an acting tour-de-force.

Almost completely avoiding the use of masks and costumes, she shows the artist in various phases of her life. Using only facial expressions and gestures, such as changes in gait or gaze, she reveals the different ages of the people portrayed, giving the film a lovely individuality. The audience feels as if they are always floating a few centimeters above the ground with her.

In addition to the extraordinary skills of the leading actress, the film fascinates with its formal originality. There appears to be something documentary next to something fictional, with surreal moments effectively breaking up traditionally designed moments. Screenwriter and director Anja Salomonowitz masterfully manages to immerse herself in the cosmos of fine art and the world of the art business without appearing to be trying or even didactic. This and Birgit Minichmayr’s play push the boundaries between cinema and fine art in a highly original way.

dpa

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