It’s a hot and suffocating weekend in the suburbs of Vienna somewhere between the autobahn and the exit roads, the hypermarkets and new housing estates. During these dog days of summer, six interwoven stories unravel, revealing a world of disillusionment and lonely souls.

Michael Haneke isn’t the only Austrian maestro of provocation. We prefer the mad visions of Ulrich Seidl and his complex relationship with his (often documentary) subjects. Winner of a Special Jury prize at Venice in 2001, this is a perverse triumph: disturbing, mesmerizing, cynical, and humanistic.