An action-packed slog

I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.

1. April 2000 is a 1952 political satire film, made during the Allied Occupation of Austria (1945–55). The script was reportedly commissioned at the request of the Austrian government, and is a political satire depicting a harmless, potentially congenial future Austria still subject to needless and stifling oversight by the four Allied powers, as established following the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II. The film was entered into the 1953 Cannes Film Festival. And of course if failed. Miserably. 1. April 2000 is propaganda in its purest form. And should be seen as nothing else: government-funded whitewashing. Why do I give the film 8/10? Because it's well-made government-funded whitewashing.

This is a question that people in the 1950s asked themselves just like we are wondering what the second half of the 21st century will look like. "1. April 2000" or "April 1, 2000" is an Austrian German-language film from 1952, so this one is already almost 65 years old. It is among the most known works by director Liebeneiner and the same applies to the writers Brunngraber and Marboe, but also in their case because they were not really that prolific. This is a black-and-white film and runs for 100 minutes approximately. One reason why this film has not totally vanished into oblivion is because the cast includes a whole lot of somewhat famous names such as Krahl, Jürgens, Meinrad, Hörbiger and Moser. But the main reason i think is because of how different it is. Science fiction is even today not very frequent in German(-language) film, but back then it was almost non-existent. And this one here is as sci-fi as it gets. There are sub-genres, such as war, comedy or maybe even romance, but none of these are as present as science fiction. And it is a very Austrian film as it depicts a fictitious version of what 1950s people thought what Austrian in the year 2000 would look like? Well.. I doubt it. This is more of a comedic take and it is a very absurd film from start to finish. The UFOs early on say it all. Unfortunately I must say that I did not enjoy the watch here for the most part. To me, it dragged on several occasions and I also felt there were too many characters in here that lacked elaboration who they were and what they did and, most of all, why they were in this movie, for examples all the statesmen appearing early. Many characters were just there without adding anything to the film and I found it disappointing. I would only recommend this film to Austrians who really love black-and-white films. Everybody else can skip it and they will not be missing much.

This film is a rarity for many reasons. First of all, it is Austrian Science Fiction (albeit only as a framing story - it's a pure comedy with a few Sci Fi elements). Secondly, it brings together all the great talents in Austrian film at the time. But thirdly and most importantly, it is state - commissioned, and it shows. Badly. Intended as a propaganda piece, this film loses no time in using the kitschiest possible imagery (and music!) to convince the viewer. The framing story is ridiculously badly written and deeply misogynist to boot - the Union's strong - willed President is even asked if she "really is a woman"! The historical reenactments meant to demonstrate to the delegates - and the viewer - how peaceful Austria is, are elaborate and well - made (the costumes are gorgeous), but extremely obvious propaganda. Yet still, this piece has its own quirky, kitschy charm. In a naive way, it is very honest - it makes no effort at all to hide that its first and only intention is to make a point. It is unabashedly political, and it uses all the clichés of early fifties comedy to reach its goal. Recommended to anyone interested in Austria's postwar history, as it shows the atmosphere in occupied Austria very well - how anxious everyone was to gain independence and yet how improbable it seemed that it would be granted anytime soon.

1. April 2000 is a political science-fiction comedy, which was made to show the situation of Austria in the early fifties. At that time Austria was occupied by the four powers, USA, Great Britain, France and the Soviet-Union but had an own government. For 7 years this government had tried to become fully independent again. The film shows the situation of Austria and the world nearly 50 years later in a very humorous way. At our time its really funny how they thought at that time the world would be. The four powers were still ruling over Austria and the prime minister proclaimed independence. So the court was siting together over the whole country and the prime minister showed the history of the last thousand years. The actors playing in the film were the who is who of Austrian actors.Austria got a state-contract two years later, so situation changed. Today the film is not only a film over the history of Austria it is a part of this history itself. Maybe something for April, 1st 2000