Another Life

Alex lives as a hermit on the Atlantic coast of Ireland. He rarely socializes with human beings, sharing his life with animals instead – birds, geese, donkeys. Smaller creatures also find shelter at his place. Observing flies and spiders through a jeweler's loupe, Alex takes pains that the law to eat or be eaten is not a possibility in his own kingdom. "There is nothing more important than anything else." This universal equality of all living beings would amount to a radical non-violence among the creatures. As far as Alex is concerned, he has made this utopia a reality in his little world. At a certain point, Jan Prazak asks, who is Alex? "Who am I? God, I'd like to know that myself." Alex has decided to live in the present as simply as possible, an individual, dismissing notions of the future and past as ill-conceived. Perhaps this is also his way of existing on par with all the beings that surround him, for it is said animals do not perceive time.
However, people with a biography do face inescapable circumstances, as Alex at least indicates when he speaks of his childhood growing up in a mining settlement (a "slum"), or a son to whom he cannot relate because he perceives him as a stranger. Occasionally Alex cleans himself up when his girlfriend visits on weekends: "Women like fresh sheets." Even a hermit has to take a break once in a while. The closing image is reserved for donkeys gazing out at the sea. Their tranquility is what Alex is searching to find. (Bert Rebhandl)

Translation: Eve Heller


 


Another Life tells the story of eccentric Alex, who lives a spiritual hermit-life at the Irish coast´s spectacular cliffs. He shares his home with dozens of injured animals that he nurses back to health until they´re ready to return to the wild. The film is a sensitive portrait of a man and his outlook on the world - a world in which all life is equal. Even that of the tiniest fly on his window. (production note)

Trailer
Orig. Title
Another Life
Year
2019
Countries
Austria, Germany
Duration
72 min
Director
Jan Prazak
Category
Documentary
Orig. Language
English
Subtitles
English, German
Downloads
Another Life_01 (Image)
Another Life_02 (Image)
Another Life (Image)
Credits
Director
Jan Prazak
Concept
Jan Prazak
Cinematography
Angelika Spangel
Montage
Barbara Seidler
Sound Design
Ken Rischard, Jón Geirfinnsson, Benedikt Palier
Sound Mix
Matthias Ermert
Colour Correction
Philipp Mayer
Production
Shirin Hooshmandi
Protagonist
Alexander Scade
Available Formats
DCP 2K flat
Aspect Ratio
1:1,85
Sound Format
Dolby Surround
Frame Rate
25 fps
Digital File (prores, h264)
Festivals (Selection)
2019
München - Int. Dokumentarfilmfestival
Kitzbühel Filmfestival
2020
Jihlava - IDFF East Silver Market
Cooperstown - Glimmerdays Fim Festival
Wien - ethnocineca. International Documentary Film Festival Vienna
2021
Palermo - SiciliAmbiente Festival