I Am Guiltyby Anonymous

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February 20, 2007: 'Falscher Bekenner' ('I Am Guilty') is a strange little film that seems to beg our indulgence in looking at and pondering the state of mind of our newly graduated college youths who have had everything provided for them to prepare for life - and are clueless as to how to begin fitting into the world. Writer and director Christoph Hochhäusler appears to have a rather bleak look at this generation - or is it the generation that produced the 'new adults' that he is questioning? Armin Steeb (Constantin von Jascheroff) is a good-looking young fresh college graduate living with his doting parents (Manfred Zapatka and Victoria Trauttmansdorff) who are concerned about Armin's inertia about supporting himself. They assist him in applying for jobs, prepare him for job interviews, and obviously love him and wish for his happiness. Armin is bored: he can barely tolerate the entire family's normalcy, longing for something to light a fire in his life. While walking alone one night he encounters a wrecked automobile containing a dead driver and while he stops to inspect, he soon moves on carrying with him a metal object from the site of the accident. Out of boredom he writes to the police that he is responsible for the accident of what happens to have been the demise of a public official. He takes the found metal object to the police station then leaves without identifying himself. Armin continues fruitless job interviews but also spends time in front of the glow of his computer monitor having fantasies: we see him defiling public roadside restrooms with graffiti, having bizarre physical liaisons with motorcycle men, and hurtful encounters with love interest contenders. Are these real or are they the products of an unfocused mind that wants more to life than the humdrum day job? Eventually Armin is arrested for his confessed 'crime' - or is he? We are left not knowing how much of what has been on the screen is imagined and what is real. Christoph Hochhäusler knows his craft: he creates atmospheres that suggest the burring of a mind in flux, he paces his tale well, and he directs a strong cast fluently. While many may view this experimental film with disgust, that may be one of the goals of Hochhäusler. Perhaps he is holding a mirror to the quality of life we have created in the 21st century for our young people who have been raised in an unstructured environment. In retrospect the ennui created here may be a more pointed existentialist statement than we at first recognize. In German with English subtitles. Grady Harp