Abstracts
Sixth Annual Conference on Austrian Literature and Culture
"Visions and Visionaries in Literature and Film of Modern Austria"
October 2001

Robert Acker, University of Montana
"Nightmare in Niederösterreich or Mayhem on Mauritius: a Critical Examination of Xaver Schwarzenberger's Contemporary Christmas Comedies Single Bells and O Palmenbaum"

When Schwarzenberger's film Single Bells was first shown in 1997 it was an immediate hit, with over a million viewers, with over a million viewers, a feat shown, a feat it was able to repeat with its rebroadcast in 1998.It even garnered lavish praise from Der Spiegel which suggest it become annual viewing fare. This immense popularity spawned an equally well-liked sequel, O Palmenbaum in 1999. The first film is set in and around Vienna and the second primarily on the "island paradise" of Mauritius. Both are satires of familial and interpersonal relationships which tend to go awry during the most "peaceful" time of the year. This paper explores how Schwarzenberger portrays human foibles in a way so realistic as to be painful and examines the reasons why some refer to the films as the 'most typically Austrian." It also discusses to what degree Schwarzenberger was able to accomplish his societal critique given the confines of the standard, albeit updated, genre of the screwball comedy.

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