Now or tomorrow

Lisa Weber, AUT 2020, 89 min, OmeU 

Even before the first frame, “Happy Birthday, Daniel!” resounds. The four-year-old is the son of Claudia, who had him when she was 15. They live in a Viennese social flat with Claudia’s brother Gerhard and mother Gabi. A life of financial hardship, no qualifications, no education, no job. The everyday stagnation only interrupted by the annual celebrations of the individual: the birthday as the climax, full of expectations. But what remains when there is no future in sight? “So much time and no life,” says the brother. In between, as a leitmotif, the pop ballad “When You Believe” by Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey, with which the family celebrates itself. When you believe – but how to move mountains when there has long been nothing left to believe in.
Lisa Weber is not invisible in her impressive intimate observation, which went on for more than three years. She arranges and intervenes cautiously. Shows that there is not just a camera, the proverbial fly on the wall, but a real person behind it. In this way, she manages to gain deep insights into a family without perspective, but which radiates a great sense of security.