Lovely Rita

2001 1h 19m DE

😐

5.3

MID

★5.3TMDB · 24

Drama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Rita is an outcast teenager in suburban Austria, misunderstood both at school, where she's disdained by classmates, and at home, where her staunchly religious mother and temperamental father bemoan her inability to fit in with their comfortable bourgeois life. When Rita sets out to seduce her school bus driver, she sets in motion a series of events that changes everyone's lives irrevocably.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

Barbara Osika
Rita
Christoph Bauer
Fexi
Peter Fiala
Bus Driver
Wolfgang Kostal
Rita's Father
Karina Brandlmayer
Rita's Mother

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Jessica Hausner
Writers: Jessica Hausner
Languages: English, German
Countries: Germany, Austria

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Tight 79-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

25 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, German.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: Germany, Austria.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Jessica Hausner, shot by Martin Gschlacht. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Dom Capuano. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Karin Hartusch shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Jessica Hausner directs. Martin Gschlacht behind the camera. Dom Capuano scores. Karin Hartusch cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in Germany, Austria. Dialogue in English, German.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Tight 79-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.
225 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, German.
4International production across 2 countries: Germany, Austria.
5Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
6Directed by Jessica Hausner, shot by Martin Gschlacht. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
7Original score by Dom Capuano. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
8Editor Karin Hartusch shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
9Barbara Osika and Christoph Bauer and Peter Fiala carry the top of the cast.
10IMDB entry: tt0228536 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Only 24 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.