Moos auf den Steinen

Recently rereleased, this 1956 relic paints a melancholy picture of after-war Austria. An old decaying castle stands in as metaphor for the formerly grand Habsburg empire. The once-expensive interior crumbles from water damage, the ceiling is falling in, the parcs are overrun by wild and damp nature. The owners don't have the funds to renovate, yet a young literature hotshot in love with the heiress wants to transform the castle into a centre for culture. A love story and drama ensues, while the wish for renewal fights against the natural process of decay.

High on nature and ghosts of the past, the novel spirits you away into a foggy and cold forrest, a swamp land with leaking boats and moss-covered stone sculptures. The participants play dress-up with the decomposing garments of the past and the modern wear of the future. Nothing quite fits. Yet while the moss covers all, the stone underneath still remains.