The Tobacconist – Der Trafikant (2018)

Directed by: Nikolaus Leytner | 117 minutes | drama, history | Actors: Simon Morzé, Bruno Ganz, Johannes Krisch, Emma Drogunova, Karoline Eichhorn, Michael Fitz, Regina Fritsch, Tom Hanslmaier, David Altman, Christoph Bittenauer, Haymon Maria Buttinger, Gerti Drassl, Tom Hanslmaier, Erni Mangold, Thomas Mraz, Vicky Nikolaevskaja , Martin Oberhauser, Tobias Ofenbauer, Robert Seethaler, Angelika Strahser, Martin Thaler, Rainer Wöss

‘The Tobacconist’ (Der Trafikant’) is the film adaptation of Robert Seethaler’s book, “The Viennese Cigar Farmer”. The film is set in pre-World War II Austria. Franz Huchel is a 17-year-old boy who lives with his mother in Schörfling am Attersee, in the Salzkammergut region. The lake on which their modest wooden house is located holds no secrets for the boy, who has a special habit of staying underwater for minutes. That same water, combined with a thunderstorm, causes the untimely death of Franz’s mother’s lover. Without his financial support, Franz can no longer live at home. So his mother sends him to Otto Trsnjek, a former lover, who has a thriving cigar shop in Vienna.

A bad cigar tastes like horse manure, a good cigar tastes like tobacco, but an excellent cigar tastes like the world. This is one of the first lessons Otto gives his young student. But Franz is not particularly interested in the smoking products he has to sell. Much more is his doings controlled by his adolescent hormones. In his mind, the first female customer allows him a glimpse into her cleavage. When Franz meets the attractive Anezka at the fair, his fantasies run wild. Through conversations with regular customer Sigmund Freud (the Bruno Ganz who died in 2019 in one of his last roles) he realizes that he must not let this wonderful woman go.

Against the background of the advancing anti-Semitism, ‘The Tobacconist’ paints a clear picture of the different classes that inhabited the Austrian capital. Freud represents the upper class; but even the walls of his luxurious accommodation fail to hold back the fear of German oppression. Franz and Otto represent the middle class; although Franz is of course still young, he earns enough to enjoy himself in the nightlife. Anezka and her roommates are at the bottom of the social ladder. Having fled from their home country, an unhealthy living environment awaits them in Vienna with far too many people per square meter and little prospects for the future. Anezka still feels too good for an anime girl, but that’s probably only a matter of time.

‘The Tobacconist’ is rich in details, a big compliment goes to the production design. The colors are mainly blue, brown and gray, which makes the red accents (like those of the Nazi flags) stand out. Although the film looks neat and the somewhat forced scenario remains fascinating enough, Franz’s dreams and fantasies regularly take the viewer out of the story. The contrast between dream and reality is big enough, but Franz’s sexually tinted daydreams are often less clear exactly that. It is only when the film rewinds to a moment before that you realize that what was being shown took place in Franz’s head.

Much of the film is about Franz’s search for his lover, and that’s actually the least interesting part of the story. That changes as soon as the Nazis make their mark and that fortunately offers the main character the opportunity to grow. Yet ‘The Tobacconist’ remains too much on the surface: it is nothing at all. A bit of coming-of-age, a bit of history and a touch of Sigmund Freud (including dream images that an amateur psychologist still manages to analyze in great detail). With a very fine performance by Bruno Ganz.