Tomcat

Winner of the prestigious Teddy award for Best Feature Film at this year’s Berlinale, Handl Klaus’ sophomore effort is a sensual relationship drama that unexpectedly delivers an out of the blue bolt of lightning that forever haunts the couple at its center. Golden-haired Stefan (Lukas Turtur) and his dark-haired partner Andreas (Philipp Hochmair) live a near-idyllic life with their pet cat Moses in their country home outside Vienna. Stefan is a professional French horn player while Andreas manages the orchestra he plays in. They host lively dinner parties with their close-knit group of friends and, like a modern-day Adam and Steve, work in their gorgeous garden in the nude and enjoy a sex life so passionate and open, they don’t mind demonstrating it as encouragement for their timid gay friend Lorenz. But their Garden of Eden-like existence is shattered after a shocking and unexpected incident alters the perceptions that Stefan and Andreas have of one another and their understanding of themselves. Driven by the powerful performances of renowned stage actors Turtur and Hochmair and accompanied by a lilting classical score, TOMCAT is a provocative, stirring examination of what happens to a loving couple when trouble snakes its way into paradise.

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