MUSEUM HOURS
By: John ’Doc’ Strange
Directed by: Jem Cohen
Starring: Mary Margaret O'Hara, Bobby Sommer, Ela Piplits
MPAA Rating: NR
Selig Rating: GET YOUR TORCHES
Runtime: 107 Min.
Johann (Bobby Sommer) is a security guard at the Kunsthistorisches Art Museum in Vienna. His life is nice and quiet. He spends his days watching the museum visitors and enjoying the art.
Enter Anne (Mary Margaret O'Hara), a Canadian woman who has come to Vienna to see her dying cousin. With her cousin in a coma, Anne is left to wander the city to fill her time. The Kunsthistorisches Art Museum becomes the place she spends most of her time.
Johann meets Anne when he helps her to find the best way to get from the museum to the hospital. Over the following days they become friends. Johann helps Anne communicate with the doctors and the hospital.
The friendship is overshadowed unfortunately by the style of the film. It has the feel of a documentary instead of the dramatic feature it is supposed to be. The only color to be seen is in the museum. The outdoor scenes are filled with the dead grays of winter and the trash and refuse of depressed areas around what should be the beautiful city of Vienna, Austria.
The two speak in English when together but when Johann is alone we have to read subtitles as his voiceover is in Austrian. If this isn’t jarring enough, there is the scene where suddenly everyone in the museum is… NUDE.
I had high hopes for this film following glowing recommendations from friends regarding the director’s previous films. Unfortunately those hopes were dashed. It has been a long time since I issued this rating but I give Museum Hours a Get Your Torches.
Movie Site: http://www.museumhoursfilm.com
The Selig Rating Scale:
FULL PRICE – Excellent movie, well worth the price
MATINEE – Good movie
DOLLAR – OK movie
CABLE – No need to rush. Save it for a rainy day.
FREEBIE – Good that I saw it on the big screen but wish I hadn't paid for it.
COMMERCIAL TV – Commercials and cutting to the allotted time will not hurt this one.
FORGET IT! – Bad. If you see this one, do yourself a favor and keep it to yourself.
GET YOUR TORCHES – BAD! – Burn the script, the writer, the director and maybe even the actors!
