One of the most unique films to arise out of the pandemic was Johannes Grenzfurthner’s Masking Threshold. Showcasing how far a solid premise and low-budget inventiveness can be taken when wielded by an artist confident in their vision, I was completely taken with the flick’s atypical presentation. The Austrian multi-hyphenate filmmaker’s latest, Solvent, is making the rounds on the festival circuit now, and I was able to take a look at it this past weekend.
Several years after the disappearance of his grandfather under mysterious circumstances, a bougie Austrian named Ernst (Grenzfurthner) hires a team of investigators to help him search the missing man’s ramshackle farmstead for historically valuable documents and artifacts. Wolfgang Zinggl (portrayed in archival footage by Grenzfurthner’s own granddad, Otto Zucker) was a Nazi death camp officer, and Ernst believes there may still be secrets that can be uncovered at the property.
While Ernst is certainly an important character in the film, our lead is actually portrayed by Jon Gries, best known to film fans as Uncle Rico in Napoleon Dynamite and the human form of the Wolfman in The Monster Squad. His Gunner Holbrook is an American expatriate who documents the initial search and eventually his own descent into horror and madness. Additionally, significant supporting roles belong to Aleksandra Cwen as a Polish researcher and Holbrook’s lover, and Roland Gratzer as an aggressive neighbor who knows more than he initially lets on. The Alamo Drafthouse’s Tim League and Nightmares Film Festival’s Jason Tostevin have cameos, while Jello Biafra, Jörg Buttgereit, and Chris Gore lend their voices to a short scene.
First off, let’s talk about the presentation. Solvent is ostensibly a mockumentary/found footage flick. However, as with Masking Threshold, Grenzfurthner puts his own stylistic stamp on the approach. For example, what we see on screen is not just what the character of Holbrook captures with his cameras. Stock footage of World War II, the Holocaust, and other visual detours are used to punctuate themes and emotional moments. This shouldn’t be confused for amateurism or flippancy, though. When combined with Grenzfurthner’s predilection for extreme close-ups, the resulting watch is disorienting and unsettling while still managing to be more purely cinematic than what the genre can usually muster.
The resulting experience, aided by Anton Paievski’s deft editing, takes on an almost collage-like aesthetic. On the surface, the film often looks arty and abstract. Florian Hofer’s cinematography is never less than beautiful and supremely capable, though, and the DP flits between first-person POV storytelling sequences and more impressionistic sequences with ease. Grenzfurthner proves that found footage films can be just as stylized as their more traditionally presented brethren.
This approach necessitates tight scripting, lest we’re swallowed up by the unusual imagery. Thankfully, Grenzfurthner and co-writer Benjamin Roberts are up to the task. Holbrook’s face never appears onscreen; however, his voice is nearly omnipresent. While this narration sometimes takes on a prosaic feel, it’s never unconvincing or artificial. Character work for those roles that do appear onscreen is nicely done. I particularly enjoyed the flavor provided by the reactionary, bullying neighbor. Despite a somewhat dreamy atmosphere, the plot unfolds at a nice pace over the course of around 95 minutes. Themes about how the past haunts the present, the threat of fascism, and the possibly problematic ways that the Holocaust is packaged for mass media consumption all ring loud and clear. Throw in a few instances of dry dark humor, and the end result is a troubling but deeply satisfying story.
Performances are all rock solid. Grenzfurthner is fun as the weaselly Ernst. Gratzer is believably imposing and buffoonish. As I stated above, Gries’ face never appears onscreen. I’m somewhat doubtful that it’s his legs, hands, etc., that we often see, as his character is significantly younger than he himself. That being said, his voice acting is nuanced and engaging. It’s a tricky component that the film absolutely turns on, but Gries is warm and relatable, even as Holbrook plumbs the depths of Nazi depravity and his own darkest secrets.
The production design is fantastic. The set/location easily immerses us into the story. The abandoned house is suitably disgusting, and the bunker is appropriately both nondescript and creepy as hell. Costumes like the hazmat suits from the beginning of the film also help sell the reality of the diegesis. The wince-inducing gore deployed in the final act is disturbingly graphic and distressingly authentic. I would’ve preferred that practical effects would’ve also been utilized for the film’s closing shot, as the CGI is somewhat jarring, but it honestly doesn’t derail the emotional impact of the scene.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention composer Pieter de Graaf’s ghostly score. Often, it has a subdued yet orchestral quality that feels like some ethereal radio from the past broadcasting ominously in the background. Occasionally, though, it switches to a more jumbled modern soundscape that’s designed to evoke more primal feelings. It’s admirable work. I’ll also note here that much of the film is in English, but there is plenty of German spoken as well. Subtitles are present in those instances.
A solvent is a substance with the ability to dissolve other substances. Johannes Grenzfurthner’s Solvent reveals how the horrors of our relatively recent past are dissolved in our present. It feels like a wake-up call, although it is also cautionary. I couldn’t help but think of Nietzsche, a philosopher famously misinterpreted by the Nazis, and his warning to “battle not with monsters, lest you become one, and if you gaze into the abyss, know that the abyss gazes also into you” when thinking about Gunner Holbrook. I don’t want to get into spoilers, but that quote can be interrogated in a variety of ways through that character. In any case, Solvent is the type of film that sticks with you for days after you watch it. Its unconventional presentation and refusal to play by genre rules may turn off some viewers, but I was completely enthralled. Highly recommended for fans of Decoder, Apt Pupil, and Sans Soleil.
Update: The filmmaker has reached out and clarified that what I initially believed to be CGI was actually created using a wax figure and time-lapse photography. I apologize for any confusion!
Michael Cavender