Haider lebt, 1. April 2021

‘An Austrian Heimat film’, is the subtitle of this satirical April Fool film. Europe in 2021 is divided into American sectors. The official currency is now the dollar. In Vienna, Johnny Bush (son of the American president) is state chancellor, English is the official language, dialects are banned and the Viennese who want to speak Viennese have gone underground. The German journalist August Maria Kaiser comes to Vienna to make a report about Jörg Haider, who had been driven out of power by the Americans after ruling for twenty years and has disappeared without trace. Looking for the truth and for Haider, Kaiser meets many wellknown people.Kern: ‘This film beats politics at its own game. In the free form of the satire, a supposition becomes the truth, rumour becomes proof, the deformation of senile mythomania becomes written history and the cheek with which things are alleged becomes allpowerful. All kinds of levels are examined: personal tragedy, defamed honour, physical and mental decay and above all the dehumanising Moloch State.’