Imagine the feeling of warmth that completely fills you after a particularly good soup. Imagine the feeling of anticipation for someone you've been looking forward to seeing and that meeting exceeds your expectations completely. Imagine the feeling of just knowing that this is your day, the sun is shining, and the joy of it all is felt deep in your stomach. Those are exactly the kind of feelings I get when I watch films by Austrian director and artist Alexander Gratzer.

Gratzer is the kind of artist who embodies the roles of a director, visual artist, animator, scriptwriter, and often also a musician, sound designer, and editor. The community around Austrian animation is not large, and as Gratzer jokingly and with exaggeration says: „I am the only Austrian animator!“ . Of course, this is not entirely true, but his films are mostly created purely from his own authorship, without the larger production or a big studio. Gratzer graduated at the University of Applied Arts Vienna in 2018 - Painting and subsequently continued his studies in Animation at MOME in Budapest. It was the easiest way how to move forward in the field of animation and gain new experiences.
 

The first film I ever saw by Gratzer was Museum Guard (2016). Long shot of an empty art gallery with a guard who gets swept away by the moment and sings the song What's up?.  Nobody is watching, and the protagonist is freedomly waking up his inner I. The guard steps out of the role, he sings his heart out and becomes himself. It's a situation of letting go, one that everyone knows in some way. The viewer can identify with the film, enjoy it, and may be surprised by the simplicity and lightness of the film. It's no wonder that the film was screened at over thirty festivals and won eight awards.

Similarly to the film Museum Guard, in the movie  Animateur (2017), we can watch one big scene with little action as the movement of clouds or a character on a diving board above a pool somewhere in desert. Gratzer’s films work with well-timed pacing and cleverly spoken lines that create humorous situations or allow the characters, and therefore the viewers, to philosophize.  Questions are asked by the characters at the end of the film Animateur and in the film Espresso (2016). Through his films, the director often explores the relationship between animation and the viewer. The characters indirectly address the viewer, highlighting that the film is a film and merely a mediator of thought and situation.
 

Apfelmus  (2019) is the culmination of all philosophic reflections. The film, with its strangely calming atmosphere, brings three connected situations and characters birds, people, and polar bears. It is kind of absurd film, combining the magic of a visually colourful world with dialogues full of doubts about the meaning of existence and criticism of the situations in which the characters find themselves. In the same time the film is also full of calm and offers a simple recipe for getting out of a crisis: „You just have to wash, peel, cut, and mash it. The apple.“  The viewer can either accept the film and be carried away by it or not.
 

Alex's films often feature characters who say and do very bizarre things. You might not expect some of their lines to be wise and thought-provoking or others to be naive or little bit foolish. Sometimes, it's two characters hanging upside down on a rollercoaster (Rollercoaster, 2017), and other times it's two characters sitting in armchairs with their legs behind their heads (In the Living Room, 2015). It could also be a pair of philosophising animals or an individual who thinks no one is watching. As a viewer I have a feeling as I watch situation in those films secretly, but the observed characters still know, that the audience is there. Fact that Alex voices the majority of the dialogue himself, using different tones of German or English has strong influence on the atmosphere of these films. It makes the characters more vivid, kinder, and funnier. For the filmmaker, it's also a quick, simple, and inexpensive way how to do it and he often combines it with music done by himself on guitar.

Simplicity of director’s films does not diminish their value. Alex is a good example of how not every great animation film these days needs to have a production and big financial support. There are still ways how to do it differently in a small team. Despite the low budget of Gratzer's filmography, there is a noticeable qualitative upward trend in it.

Film In The Upper Room (2022) represents the peak of Gratzer's work so far. The director's graduation film features more complicated animation in more shots. I also evaluate this film as the most accessible to audiences. This film warms hearts with its empathetic portrayal of the connection between two worlds. Through a charming artistic approach, viewers can revisit their own family memories and contemplate intergenerational exchange. The film, which is partly autobiographical, depicts four seasons - four stages of life and evolving relationship between Alexander, in the film he is a little mole, and his blind grandfather portrayed as a wise blind mole with a passion for cracking nuts. 

Little mole regularly visits his grandfather, brings him small gifts and sometimes also secretly borrows something. As he matures, he realises more clearly the precious relationship they have, what his grandfather passes on to him, and also realises that their time together is limited. In the autumn of his grandfather's life, Alex asks himself: „Why I haven't asked any questions lately?“ . A question that almost every one of us asks when we realise the mortality of close beloved relatives. This film same way as the previous ones gently push an audience to reflect and think about personal experiences and past.

The director often works on commissioned projects such as jingles for various festivals, and his kind humor is evident in this part of his work as well. The jingle for Anibar 2022, where the black cat Lydia leans gently over Mr. Owl and asks: „Bruno? Are you a superstition kind of bird?“  always made the entire cinema laugh. Alex is a warm-hearted person both in his films and in his personal life. His films are like a warm bowl of soup that fills you with joy and satisfaction. He is a true artist, embodying the many for film necessary roles in one person. Though the Austrian animation community is small, Gratzer's films have gained widespread recognition and have been screened at many festivals, winning many awards. His films often feature quirky characters and situations, and the cleverly written lines create humorous situations or encourage viewers to philosophise. Gratzer’s films also remind us that great animation can be made with a small team and a lot of heart. He's currently working on a new film, and I can't wait to see what he comes up with!

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